Second  Edition 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER: 


A  COMPLETE 


MANUAL  OF  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PRINTING, 


By  CHARLES  VY.  HEARN. 


CONTAIN  ING  FULL  DETAILS  CONCERNING  ALL  THE  STYLES  AND  PROCESSES 
OF  PLAIN  AND  ALBUMEN  PAPER  PRINTING,  AND  OF 
PRINTING  ON  PORCELAIN. 

WITH  AN  EXAMPLE  OF  PRINTING , 

ANI)  NEARLY  IOO  ILLUSTRATIONS, 

VALUABLE  TO  BOTH  THE  LEARNER  AND  PRACTICED  PRINTER. 


PH  I LADE L PHI A: 
PUBLISHED  BY  EDWARD  L.  WILSON , 

11G  North  Seventh  St. 

1  8  7  S. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S78, 

By  EDWARD  L.  WILSON, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  1).  C 


P  R  H  F  A  C  E. 


In  the  preparation  of  this  work  it  has  been  the  aim  of  the 
author  to  make  it  of  practical  value  to  those  who  are  about  to 
commence  the  study  of  photographic  printing,  or  those  who  de¬ 
sire  to  perfect  themselves  in  it,  and  for  this  purpose  he  has  en¬ 
deavored  to  place  in  it  only  such  information  and  advice  as  can 
be  relied  upon,  and  which  will  aid  the  learner  in  acquiring 
speedily  the  modus  operandi  of  general  Albumen,  Plain  Paper, 
Glace,  and  Porcelain  Printing. 

The  writer  has  purposely,  in  many  chapters  of  this  work, 
treated  of  cases  which  are  not  very  often  found  in  the  majority 
of  galleries,  yet,  as  they  are  in  a  few,  they  have  for  that  reason 
been  taken  up  and  disposed  of. 

All  of  the  different  classes  of  negatives  mentioned  have  been 
real  ones  with  the  author,  and  not  imaginary,  for  they  have  all 
at  some  past  time  been  given  to  him  to  print  from,  and  have 
been  “doctored,”  printed,  etc  ,  by  some  of  the  methods  men¬ 
tioned. 


IV 


PUEFA  CE. 


It  is  not  the  printing  from  excellent  negatives  that  teaches  the 
learner,  for  fine  prints  from  such  are  very  easily  obtained  ;  but 
it  is  the  printing  from  poor  negatives  that  instructs  him,  and  it 
is  on  this  account  that  many  printers  in  poor  galleries  often 
understand  best  the  printing  of  difficult  negatives,  because  they 
are  more  accustomed  to  print  from  such. 

The  elegant  specimen  of  photography  embellishing  this  work 
is  from  the  well-known  photograph  gallery  of  Mr.  G.  M.  Elton, 
of  Palmyra,  N.  Y. 


CONTEN  T S. 


The  Printing-Room, 

INTRODUCTION. 

I'AOE 

. 13 

The  Silvering-  and  Toning-Room,  .......  17 

The  Drying- Room,  ..........  18 

PART  I. — ALBUMEN  PAPER  PRINTING. 
CHAPTER  I. 

The  Positive  Rath  for  Albumen  Paper,  .  .  .  .  .21 

CHAPTER  II. 

Silvering  the  Albumen  Paper,  ........  30 


Drying  the  Paper,. 

CHAPTER  III. 

. 34 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Fuming  the  Paper, 

. 34 

CHAPTER  V. 

Preservation  of  Sensitive  Albumenized  Paper;  Washed  Sensitive 
Paper, . 


Cutting  the  Paper, 

CHAPTER  VI. 

. 40 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Printing-Boards, 

. 42 

Keeping  Tally,  . 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

. 44 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Vignette  Printing-Blocks,  .........  4i. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Treatment  of  Negatives  before  Printing,  . 


.  47 


VI 


( 'OX TENTS. 


CHAPTER  XI.  pA<;B 

Filling  of  the  Hoards,  .........  ">4 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Fitting  Vignette- Hoards  to  the  Negatives  for  Printing,  .  .  .  f>0 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Medallion  and  Arch-top  Printing,  .......  (13 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Fancy  Printing,  ..........  70 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Vignette  Cameo  and  Medallion  Vignette  Cameo  Printing,  .  .  73 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Printing  the  Hendann  Backgrounds,  ......  76 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Printing  Intense  Negatives,  ........  HO 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Printing  Weak  Negatives,  ........  80 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

A  Few  More  Remarks  about  Printing — Treatment  of  Broken  Nega¬ 
tives,  . 02 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Cutting  the  Prints,  ..........  !••’> 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Washing  the  Prints, .  .........  102 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Acidifying  the  Prints,  .........  104 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Toning  Baths,  ...........  106 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Artistic  Toning,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .114 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Fixing  Baths  and  Fixing  Prints,  .......  120 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Final  Washing  of  the  Prints,  ........  123 


CO  A  TEXTS. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

PAGE 

Mounting  the  Prints, . 128 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Finishing  the  Prints,  .........  181 

PART  II.— PLAIN  PAPER  PRINTING. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Salting  the  Paper,  .  138 

CHAPTER  II. 

Positive  Baths  for  Plain  Salted  Paper,  ......  140 

CHAPTER  III. 

Silvering  Plain  Salted  Paper, . 141 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Drying,  Fuming,  and  Cutting  the  Paper,  .  .  .  .  .145 

CHAPTER  V. 

Treatment  of  the  Negatives  before  Printing,  .  .  .  .  .147 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Printing-in  False  Backgrounds,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .151 

CHAPTER  VII. 

General  Plain  Paper  Printing,  .  .  .  .153 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Further  Treatment  of  the  Prints  after  Printing,  ....  155 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Causes  of  Failures  in  Albumen  and  Plain  Paper  Printing,  .  .  150 

PART  III.— PORCELAIN  PRINTING. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Selection  of  the  Porcelain  Plates, . 171 

CHAPTER  II. 

Cleaning  of  the  Porcelain  Plates,  .  .  .  .  .  .172 


CONTESTS. 


viii 

CHAPTER  III.  „AGF 

Albumenizing  the  Porcelain  Plates,  ......  174 

CHAPTER  TV. 

Making  the  Porcelain  Collodion,  .......  17b 

CHAPTER  V. 

Coating,  Fuming,  and  Drying  the  Plates,  .....  180 

CHAPTER  Vt. 

Porcelain  Printing-boards,  ........  182 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Placing  the  Sensitive  Plate  on  the  Board  for  Printing,  .  .  .  188 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Printing  Vignette  Porcelains,  ........  184 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Printing  Medallion  Porcelains,  .......  185 

CHAPTER  X. 

Washing  the  Porcelains,  .........  18(1 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Toning  the  Porcelains,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .188 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Fixing  the  Porcelains,  .........  1811 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Final  Washing  of  the  Porcelains,  .......  11*1 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Drying  and  Tinting  the  Porcelains,  ......  192 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Varnishing  the  Porcelains,  ........  198 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Causes  of  Failures  in  Porcelain  Printing,  .....  195 

PART  IV.— GLACE  PHOTOGRAPHS. 

•_'(  12 


(Race  Printing, 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  PRINTING-ROOM. 

For  good  success  at  printing,  it  is  necessary  that  the  printing- 
room  should  be  convenient  to  work  in,  and  well  supplied  with 
those  materials,  etc.,  which  are  so  necessary  for  fine  work. 

A  good  printer,  like  a  good  surgeon,  may  do  very  well  with  a 
few  conveniences,  but  he  will  more  likely  do  better  with  more. 
A  good  draughtsman  may  do  very  well  with  his  pen  and  parallel 
rulers,  but  he  can  do  much  better  by  the  use  of  a  set  of  instru¬ 
ments,  and  that  necessity,  a  “T  square.” 

The  term  instruments,  in  the  general  sense  of  the  word,  is 
applied  to  anything  by  which  an  effort  is  brought  about,  and  con¬ 
sequently  our  printing-boards,  vignette-blocks,  etc.,  are  instru¬ 
ments  in  the  case  of  the  photographic  printer,  as  well  as  the  case 
of  surgical  tools  are  instruments  in  the  hands  of  the  surgeon.  A 
skilful  workman,  when  once  asked  by  the  foreman  of  an  estab¬ 
lishment  what  was  the  instrument  he  had  used  to  enable  him  to 
do  his  work  so  nicely,  replied:  “My  hands  are  the  best  instru¬ 
ments  I  have  outside  of  my  brain.” 

So  it  is  with  the  photographic  printer,  for  his  hands  are-  subor¬ 
dinate  to  that  mightier  and  more  valuable  instrument,  the  brain; 
and  consequently  “a  thinking  man”  is  far  more  successful  than 
a  merely  mechanical  one  (although  the  latter  may  have  all  the 
conveniences  possible),  for  “the  brain  conceives  what  the  hands 
execute;”  and  if  a  person  does  not  use  his  brain  to  good  advan¬ 
tage,  verily  his  work  will  show  it. 


14 


THE  PRACTICAL  PR  I. X  TER. 


Now,  the  whole  attention  of  the  brain  can  be  used  very  advan¬ 
tageously///  the  printing-room  of  a  gallery,  as  well  as  in  the  “sky¬ 
light  and  the  dark-room.”  There  is  a  great  mistake  often  made 
in  the  “fitting  out”  of  a  photograph  gallery,  in  placing  about 
all  of  the  money  in  “the  reception-room,”  and  leaving  a  few 
dollars  to  go  into  the  printing  department,  and  a  few  more,  per¬ 
haps,  in  the  dark-  and  operating-rooms.  A  good  housewife  does 
not  commence  at  the  parlor  and  furnish  (down  to  the  kitchen,  but 
she  commences  first  at  the  culinary  department,  and  after  she  has 
furnished  that  (her  work-room),  she  then  commences  to  furnish 
her  sitting-room,  and  finally  her  parlor.  This  is  the  way  it  should 
be  with  the  photographer:  he  should  loo\  first  to  the  skylight, 
and  then  to  the  nicely  fitting  out  of  this,  the  operating-room, 
which  of  course  includes  the  cameras,  lenses,  backgrounds,  etc. 
He  then  sees  to  his  dark-room,  and  next,  but  by  no  means  least, 
he  sees  to  the  printing-room,  and  then,  finally  and  lastly,  to  his 
reception-room,  which  he  furnishes  as  his  means  will  permit. 

An  elegantly  furnished  reception-room  does  not  vouch  for  good 
work,  although  it  may  indicate  that  the  proprietor  had  money,  or 
that  he  had  found  somebody  who  would  trust. 

A  customer,  when  she  wishes  her  “ likeness  taken,"  does  not 
look  to  see  if  the  reception-room  is  nicely  furnished,  and  thus 
decide  as  to  whether  she  will  be  suited  or  not ;  not  at  all ;  she 
wishes  to  see  samples  of  work,  and  then  decides.  And  since  this 
is  so,  should  we  not  endeavor  to  have  conveniences,  etc.,  in 
doing  our  work,  so  that  the  samples  and  work  in  general  will  be 
excellent,  since  it  is  this,  and  not  the  elegance  of  the  reception- 
room,  that  brings  in  the  customers? 

Another  illustration  that  the  elegance  of  the  apartments,  etc., 
is  not  the  criterion  by  which  the  customer  judges  the  work  of  the 
photographer,  is  very  well  illustrated  in  that  of  a  well-known 
Parisian  gallery,  where  the  patrons  of  the  establishment  are 
obliged  to  leave  their  carriages  at  the  entrance  of,  and  walk 
through,  a  narrow  lane,  up  three  flights  of  stairs,  and  directly  into 
the  operating-room,  as  the  gallery  has  no  reception-room  what¬ 
ever  worthy  of  mention.  The  ladies  usually  make  their  engage¬ 
ments  through  a  gentleman  friend,  and  then  proceed,  all  attired, 
in  their  carriages  to  the  studio,  and  are  then  immediately  posed. 
It  may  be  well  to  mention  here  that  the  patrons  are  obliged  to 


THE  PRINTING-ROOM. 


15 


keep  their  engagements  to  within  five  minutes,  or  so,  or  they  lose 
their  appointment  for  that  day. 

The  general  opinion  among  photographers  is,  that  any  place 
will  do  for  a  printing-room,  and  it  is  on  this  principle  that  print¬ 
ers  are  so  well  known  to  have  very  inconvenient  rooms,  etc., 
where  they  almost  invariably  are  obliged  to  labor  under  extreme 
difficulties.  Printing-rooms  should  be  so  arranged  that  the  poor 
printer  will  not  freeze  in  winter  nor  roast  in  the  summer;  and, 
outside  of  the  printer’s  own  personal  comfort,  the  temperature 
of  the  rooms  is  a  matter  worthy  of  the  strictest  attention  on  the 
part  of  the  photographer,  or  else  he  cannot  expect  good  work, 
and  if  he  does  expect  it,  without  proper  attention  being  given  to 
the  conditions  under  which  the  negatives  are  printed,  then  he  is 
sure  to  be  disappointed. 

The  negatives  should  no  more  be  printed  out  of  doors  in  the 
winter-time  (more  especially  if  the  day  is  very  cold)  than  they 
ought  to  be  taken  there,  posing  and  all  being  accomplished  while 
there  is  light  sufficient  to  enable  the  photographer  to  “take  a 
picture.’’  As  before  said,  the  fitting  out  of  the  printing-room  is 
a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  although  it  has  not  been 
recognized  by  the  many  photographers,  yet  it  has  by  the  few. 

I  will,  in  the  first  three  figures  of  this  book,  illustrate  what  may 
be  termed  model  printing,  silvering,  and  toning  rooms.  The 
original  rooms  may  be  recognized  by  those  persons  who  are  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  gallery  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Lamson,  Portland,  Me., 
as  they  are  almost  similar  to  his  ;  indeed,  they  were  originally 
intended  to  be  exactly  like  them,  but  were  afterwards  changed  a 
little,  as  I  wished  to  give  a  model  suit  of  rooms  rather  than  to 
copy  any  particular  ones. 

The  size  of  the  main  room,  Fig.  i,  is  10x15x10  feet.  A  is 
the  printing-shelf,  upon  which  the  negative-boards  are  placed  out 
to  print.  B  is  the  sash  of  glass,  through  which  the  light  enters 
on  the  shelf,  and  which  sash  is  kept  in  place  by  the  hooks  C.  I) 
is  a  window  which  swings  back  and  forth  by  means  of  the  hinges 
L)'.  This  window,  when  closed,  is  fastened  by  the  button  E. 
This  window  was  arranged  to  permit  the  printer  to  open  it  in  the 
winter-time  and  sweep  the  snow  from  the  glass,  without  the  trou¬ 
ble  of  removing  his  frames,  and  then  taking  the  sash  of  ground- 
glass  in.  There  is  another  sash  of  plain  glass  made  which  is 


16 


THE  PRACTICAL  PR  EX  TER. 


placed  out,  in  place  of  the  ground  one,  when  it  is  so  desired  by 
the  printer.  F  is  the  window-cord  by  which  the  curtain  is  pulled 
up  or  let  down,  as  occasion  requires.  G  is  the  drawer  in  which 
the  albumen  paper  is  placed  when  it  is  ready  for  printing.  H  is 
the  drawer  in  which  the  prints  are  placed  when  printed,  through 
the  little  aperture  K,  which  is  cut  in  the  bench,  and  supplied  with 
a  cover  of  tin  or  zinc,  so  as  to  avoid  opening  the  drawer  so  often 
as  to  discolor  the  whites  of  the  prints  therein  contained.  L  is 
the  drawer  in  which  the  albumen  paper  is  kept.  M  is  a  drawer 
in  which  the  plain  salted  paper  may  be  placed  ;  and  N  is  another 
drawer  in  which  the  7/wsalted  paper  can  be  placed.  P  P  are  nega¬ 
tives  which  are  to  be  printed,  and  which,  when  they  are  printed, 
are  temporarily  placed  as  at  P',  until  they  are  filed  away,  which 
is  done  in  another  room. 

The  shelves  RRR  are  also  negative  shelves,  which  are  used 

Fig.  1. 


for  special  purposes,  such  as  “  the  family  negatives,”  etc.  The 
wide  shelf  is  made  for  the  storing  away  of  negative-boards,  vign¬ 
ette-blocks,  porcelain  printing-frames,  etc.,  all  of  which  are  kept 
in  order.  The  filling  of  the  boards,  etc.,  will  be  spoken  of  further 
on;  suffice  it,  for  the  present,  to  say  that  this  filling  is  done  on 


TIIE  SILVERING-  AND  TONING-ROOM. 


17 


the  bench  T.  U  is  the  door  leading  to  the  ‘  !  silvering-  and  toning- 
rooms.”  V  is  the  fuming-box,  which  will  also  be  explained 
further  on.  W  is  the  box  in  which  the  old  or  used  hypo  bath  is 
poured,  and  zinc  is  thrown  into  it.  X  is  a  bench  which  is  used 
for  one  thing  and  another;  also  for  keeping  bottles,  etc.,  upon. 

THE  SILVERING-  AND  TONING-ROOM. 

The  principal  use  of  this  room  is  to  sensitize  the  paper  after  it 
is  albumenized,  or  in  the  case  of  the  plain  paper,  after  it  is  salted, 
and  then  later  in  the  day,  when  the  sensitizing  is  through  with, 
to  tone  and  fix,  as  well  as  to  wash  the  prints  in,  all  of  which 
things  can  be  done  without  at  all  interfering  with  each  other. 

A  is  a  dark  curtain,  which  in  the  figure  is  partly  raised,  but 
during  the  silvering  and  toning  process  it  is  brought  down  to  A  , 


Fig.  2. 


and  the  white  bleached  cloth  screen  B  (which  is  shaded  in  the 
figure  so  as  to  show  it  more  distinctly)  covers  the  rest  of  the  glass, 
and  thus,  in  the  toning,  a  soft  and  diffused  light  is  given  to  that 
part  of  the  room  (the  shelf  C)  where  the  toning  is  done.  D  is 
the  silvering-dish,  and  D'  is  the  place  where  this  silvering-dish  is 
kept  when  not  in  use.  E  is  where  the  kettle  of  potash  is  kept  for 
the  purpose  of  cleaning  old  plates,  h  is  where  the  nitric  acid 

2* 


18 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


tray  is  kept.  G  G  are  two  sinks.  H  is  a  shelf  on  which  the 
toning-bath  bottles  may  be  kept.  K  is  a  rack  with  three  over¬ 
lapping  pieces  of  wood,  to  which  there  are  a  number  of  spring 
clips  attached,  which  hold  the  pictures  while  draining,  as  they 
are  removed  from  the  water.  L  is  a  washing-tank  which  has 
a  perforated  false  bottom,  through  which  the  water  passes  into 
the  lower  part,  and  thence  into  the  waste-pipe  L'.  The  stop¬ 
cock  M  is  adjusted  after  the  tank  becomes  three-quarters  filled,  so 
that  it  will  permit  the  water  to  flow  out  as  fast  as  it  enters  through 
the  pipe  N.  P  P  is  an  overflow  pipe,  which  conducts  the  water, 
when  it  reaches  that  place,  into  the  waste-pipe  L'.  R  is  the  place 
where  the  hypo  dish  is  kept.  S  is  the  place  where  the  two-gallon 
hypo  bottle  is  placed.  This  bottle  is  always  kept  full  of  a  satu¬ 
rated  solution  of  hyposulphite  of  soda.  V  is  the  door  that  leads  . 
into  the  drying-room. 

THE  DRYING-ROOM. 


Fig.  3. 


This  room  was  intended  originally  to  only  dry  the  paper,  but" 
it  has  finally  been  used  for  a  variety  of  purposes,  mostly  all  con¬ 
nected  with  porcelain  printing. 

A  is  the  gas  stove  by  which  the  room  is  heated.  B  is  the  paper 
as  fastened  to  the  clips  for  drying.  C  is  a  shelf  on  which  the 
silver-bath  bottles,  as  well  as  the  collodio-chloride  bottles,  are 
placed.  I)  1)  1)  are  porcelain  plates,  each  hung  upon  two  nails. 


DISHES,  SCALES ,  GRADUATES,  ETC. 


19 


THE  NECESSARY  DISHES,  SCALES,  GRADUATES,  ETC. 


Graduate. 


Test-tube. 


« 


Iron  Upright  for  the  Printing- 
frames  to  rest  upon. 


Whole  Size  Porcelain  Dish, 
I^alf  Size,  .  .  .  . 

Scales,  Apothecaries’, . 
Filtering-paper,  . 
Test-tubes,  . 

Hydrometer, 

Filtering  Funnels, 

Glass  Mortar  and  Pestle, 
Large  Iron  Kettle, 
Graduates,  . 

Tack  Hammer, 

Wide-mouth  Bottles,  . 
Ground-glass, 

Silver  Knife, 

Iron  Uprights, 


NUMBER  WANTED. 

.  One. 

.  One. 

.  One  pair. 

.  Two  packs — one  large,  one  small. 

.  Two. 

.  One. 

.  Four  or  five  of  various  sizes. 

.  One. 

.  One. 

.  One  lfi  oz.,one  8  oz.,  one  l-8th  oz. 
.  One. 

Twelve  of  various  sizes. 

A  number  of  various  sizes. 

.  One. 

.  Twelve. 


Besides  the  above,  there  are  a  number  of  other  dishes,  etc., 
which  are  needed,  and  which  will  be  mentioned  further  on  in 
various  parts  of  this  work. 


20 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


* 

THE  NECESSARY  CHEMICALS. 


Acid,  Acetic. 

»  Citric. 

»  Hydrochloric. 

»  Muriatic. 

»  Nitric. 

»  Oxalic. 

»  Sulphuric. 

»  Tartaric. 

Alcohol,  95°  and  Common. 
Alum. 

Ammonia,  Aqua. 
Ammonium  Chloride. 

»  Nitrate. 
Beeswax. 


Benzole. 

Calcium  Chloride. 

Camphor. 

Cotton,  Filtering  and  Negative. 
Ether,  Sulphuric. 

Glass,  Porcelain. 

Glue,  Bonnet. 

Glycerin. 

Gold,  Chloride. 

Gum  Arabic. 

Lime,  Carbonate. 

»  Chloride. 

Lye. 

Magnesium  Nitrate. 


Oil  Bergamot. 

»  Lavender. 

»  Rosemary. 

Potash,  Caustic. 

»  Nitrate. 

»  Cyanide. 
Silver,  Nitrate. 
Sodium,  Chloride. 
Soda,  Bicarbonate. 
Soda,  Sal. 

Turpentine,  Spirits. 
Wax,  White  or  Virgin. 
Whiting. 


The  above  are  about  all  the  chemicals  that  are  used  in  the 
printing  department  of  photography.  The  object  of  the  writer 
in  naming  all  the  necessary  dishes,  scales,  graduates,  and  chemi¬ 
cals,  is  to  aid  the  beginner  at  photography  in  selecting  those 
things  which  are  indispensable  in  photographic  printing,  as  he 
will  at  times  need  them  all,  and  if  he  gets  them  in  the  first  place, 
it  will  save  much  trouble  afterwards  in  obtaining  them. 


Part  I. 


ALBUMEN  PAPER  PRINTING. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  POSITIVE  BATH  FOR  ALBUMEN  PAPER. 

To  prepare  the  albumen  paper,  so  that  it  will  become  sensitive 
to  the  light,  it  is  necessary  that  it  should  be  floated  upon  a  positive 
nitrate  of  silver  bath  ;  so  called  on  account  of  its  being  the 
means  by  which  the  paper  is  enabled  to  receive  the  positive  im¬ 
pression  from  the  negative.  This  bath  is  chiefly  composed  pf 
crystal  nitrate  of  silver  and  pure  water.  The  strength  should 
vary  according  to  the  temperature  of  the  weather  and  the  brand 
of  paper  used. 

A  few  years  since  there  was  considerable  discussion  in  the  lead¬ 
ing  photographic  publications,  as  to  whether  a  strong  or  a  weak 
bath  was  best  for  printing ;  a  number  of  the  leading  photogra¬ 
phers  being  in  favor  of  a  strong  bath,  and  about  as  many  more 
in  favor  of  a  weak  one. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  a  weak  silver  bath  would  generally 
necessitate  a  longer  time  for  floating  than  a  strong  bath  would  ; 
and  also  that  a  bath  weak  in  the  number  of  grains  of  silver  to 
the  ounce  of  water  would  be  more  economical ;  but  such  is  not 
the  case.  When  a  sheet  of  salted  albumen  paper  is  floated  upon 
a  bath  of  nitrate  of  silver,  the  salt  in  the  albumen  will  take  up 
the  silver  which  it  needs,  whether  the  bath  is  a  strong  or  a  weak 
one,  and  chloride  of  silver  will  be  formed.  The  albumen  will 
also  take  up  some  in  the  form  of  albuminate  of  silver  (Vogel’s 
Handbook)  ;  and  then,  if  the  sheet  is  allowed  to  remain  on  the 
bath  too  long  a  time,  there  will  be  more  of  the  solution  absorbed 
than  what  is  really  necessary,  which  will  penetrate  through 
the  mere  surface,  and  far  into  the  albumen.  The  paper  thus 


22 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


floated  and  printed  will  have  a  sunk-in  appearance,  owing  to  the 
silver  discoloring,  which  is  absorbed  far  into  the  albumen,  as 
before  said,  during  the  lengthened  time  of  sensitizing. 

This  sunk-ih  appearance  is  not  the  only  fault  with  long  floating 
on  a  weak  bath,  for  the  albumen  will  be  dissolved  off,  being  left 
in  the  bath,  and  the  paper  will  not  print  brilliant,  but  dull,  and 
often  flat  prints  will  be. the  result. 

A  strong  bath  necessitates  a  long  time  of  floating,  because  the 
albumen  on  the  paper  is  at  first  coagulated  by  the  strong  silver- 
bath,  and  it  takes  quite  a  number  of  seconds  for  the  albumen 
to  commence  to  take  up  what  silver  it  needs ;  whereas  the  albu¬ 
men  on  the  paper  not  being  coagulated  by  the  silver  in  a  weak 
bath,  it  will  more  readily  absorb  that  silver  which  is  necessary  for 
the  production  of  a  good  print.  From  this  we  find  : 

1.  That  a  strong  silver-bath  requires  a  long  time  of  floating. 

2.  That  a  weak  silver-bath  requires  a  short  time  of  floating. 

3.  That  a  medium  silver-bath  requires  a  medium  time  of  floating. 

There  are,  however,  bad  results  obtainable  by  floating  the 

paper  a  long  time  on  a  strong  bath,  as  well  as  floating  a  short 
time  on  a  weak  bath. 

When  we  float  the  paper  a  long  time  on  a  strong  bath,  it  will, 
when  printed,  make  a  bold  and  brilliant  print ;  but  the  shadows 
will  be  very  much  bronzed,  even  when  the  prints  are  mounted. 
When  we  float  the  paper  a  short  time  on  a  weak  bath,  it  will  not 
be  at  all  bronzed,  but  the  prints  are  likely  to  be  weak;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  if  we  float  the  paper  a  long  time  on  this  kind  of 
a  bath,  the  silver  will  be,  as  has  been  said,  sunk  in,  or,  as  it  is 
sometimes  expressed,  the  paper  will  be  “woolly,”  i.  e.,  with  a 
surface  fuzzy  like  wool. 

I  do  not  mean  by  the  first  two  remarks  made  above,  that  the 
extremes  are  to  be  indulged  in,  for  then,  in  a  measure,  arises  the 
bad  results  named  ;  and  in  the  case  of  the  weak  bath,  the  abuse 
of  the  remark  will  be  more  especially  a  source  of  failure. 

We  cannot,  to  obtain  good  results,  use  a  bath  weaker  than 
thirty-five  grains,  or  stronger  than  sixty  grains  of  silver  to  the 
ounce  of  water,  with  many  of  the  brands  of  paper  which  are  gener¬ 
ally  used  ;  while  with  other  brands,  thirty  grains  in  summer,  and 
sixty  to  seventy  grains  in  winter,  are  best. 

For  the  excellent  brand  of  paper  known  as  the  “Morgan,”  the 


THE  POSITIVE  BATH  FOR  ALBUMEN  PAPER. 


23 


writer  found  that  a  medium  strong  bath,  say  thirty-eight  grains 
in  summer  and  forty-eight  grains  in  winter,  of  nitrate  of  silver 
to  the  ounce  of  water,  was  best;  while  with  the  “Hovey”  brand 
of  paper,  a  bath  of  not  more  than  thirty-three  grains,  or  less 
than  twenty-eight  grains  of  silver  to  the  ounce  of  water,  with 
twenty-five  seconds’  floating,  was  necessary  during  the  summer¬ 
time;  and  in  the  winter,  when  the  negatives  were  printed  out  in 
the  cold,  he  has  known  ( not  experienced  himself)  of  a  bath  of 
seventy  grains  of  silver  alone,  and  from  two  to  three  minutes’ 
floating  to  be  required  to  obtain  good  prints  from  the  very  thin 
negatives  that  were  made. 

A  weak  bath  loses  so  much  after  silvering  a  dozen  sheets  or  so 
that  it  needs  strengthening  about  all  the  time.  A  strong  bath 
loses  also,  but  the  silver  is  not  taken  up  in  so  large  a  proportion  as  it 
is  from  the  weak  bath ;  and  the  strong  bath  can  be  used  for  a  much 
longer  time,  even  until  there  will  not  be  enough  solution  to  sensi¬ 
tize  the  paper,  without  giving  the  printer  any  trouble  whatever. 

The  prints  will  be  better  in  many  respects  with  an  average  bath 
than  with  either  the  extremes,  as  a  trial  will  show  to  the  obser¬ 
vant  printer. 

All  of  the  solution  that  is  on  the  paper  should  be,  as  much  as 
possible,  on  the  surface  of  the  albumen,  to  prevent  “woolliness,” 
and  so  as  to  have  bold,  vigorous  prints,  which  can  be  easily  freed 
from  the  nitrate  of  silver  in  the  washing. 

In  the  making  of  the  bath,  good  nitrate  of  silver  and  pure 
water  are  required.  In  about  all  cases  where  pure  water  is  re¬ 
quired,  filtered  rain-  or  clean  ice-water  will  answer. 

For  the  benefit  of  beginners,  the  process  of  making  a  silver- 
bath  for  sensitizing  the  albumen  paper  is  here  given. 

To  make  a  bath  of  sixty  ounces  of  solution,  and  forty  grains 
strong  of  silver  to  the  ounce,  the  number  of  grains  of  silver  re¬ 
quired  would  be  two  thousand  four  hundred  grains,  or  five 
ounces,  at  four  hundred  and  eighty  grains  per  ounce.* 

*  The  beginner  must  bear  in  mind  that  there  are  only  four  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  and  a  half  grains  to  the  ounce  of  nitrate  of  silver  sold  by  the 
chemists,  and  not  four  hundred  and  eighty  grains,  according  to  which  cal¬ 
culation  the  author  mentioned  as  “  two  thousand  four  hundred  grains,  or  five 
ounces.”  He  buys  it  with  four  hundred  and  thirty-seven  and  a  half  grains  to 
the  ounce,  and  then  re-weighs  it,  calculating  on  four  hundred  and  eighty  grains, 
simply  because  it  is  much  easier  to  carry  in  the  head. 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


24  _ 


Pour  into  a  large  wide-mouth  bottle  sixty  ounces  of  pure 
water.  Now  carefully  weigh  out  five  ounces  of  good  nitrate 
of  silver,  and  add  it  to  the  water  in  the  bottle.  Dissolve 
thoroughly,  by  shaking  the  contents  of  the  bottle,  which 
is  very  easily  done  without  spilling  the  liquid,  by  holding 
the  top  of  the  bottle  firmly  with  the  left  hand,  and  revolv¬ 
ing  the  bottom  in  a  steady,  circular  motion  with  the  right. 
The  bath  as  now  made  is  called  a  “plain  nitrate  of  silver 
bath,”  because  of  its  being  composed  simply  of  nitrate  of  silver 
and  water,  and  is  used  by  many  of  our  best  photographers,  ex¬ 
cept  that  the  strength  of  it  varies,  sometimes  being  greater,  and 
often  less. 

Mr.  H.  T.  Anthony,  of  New  York,  was  the  first  to  advise  the 
use  of  alum  in  the  printing-bath.  It  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  very 
best  things  that  can  be  added  to  the  silver-bath,  to  give  brilliancy 
and  richness  of  tone  to  the  prints.  The  theory  of  the  alum, 
as  an  improvement  when  used  in  the  printing-bath,  is  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

The  alum  hardens  the  surface  of  the  albumen  paper  when  it  is 
floated  upon  a  silver-bath  containing  it,  so  that  the  solution  is 
kept  more  on  the  surface,  and  when  the  paper  is  dried  quickly, 
the  resulting  prints  appear  very  brilliant,  printing  finely,  es¬ 
pecially  in  the  shadows,  and  are  more  easily  and  better  toned 
and  fixed,  and  the  final  washing  is  more  likely  to  be  thoroughly 
done. 

A  small  lump  of  alum  is  placed  in  the  funnel  through  which 
the  bath  is  filtered,  and  the  solution,  as  it  filters,  will  take  up  the 
quantity  it  needs. 

Mr.  John  R.  Clemons  has  recommended  the  use  of  glycerin 
in  the  printing  bath,  in  the  proportion  of  one  and  a  half  ounces 
of  pure  glycerin  to  every  sixteen  ounces  of  solution.  It  has  re¬ 
ceived  great  praise  from  many  of  the  finest  photographers  in  the 
country. 

Sal  soda  is  often  added  to  the  silver-bath,  in  the  proportion  of 
a  half  ounce  of  the  saturated  solution  of  the  soda  to  every  sixty 
ounces  of  solution.  On  adding  this,  the  bath  will  immediately 
turn  milky;  after  the  solution  has  been  thoroughly  stirred, 
it  should  be  allowed  to  settle  for  awhile,  and  then  filtered  into 
another  bottle  before  use,  leaving  the  carbonate  of  silver  (the 


Till?  POSITIVE  BATH  FOR  ALBUMEN  PAPERS. 


25 


deposit)  in  the  first  bottle.  When  through  silvering  the  paper, 
pour  the  solution  back  into  the  bottle  where  the  deposit  is,  and 
again  shake  the  contents.  In  the  morning,  the  solution  will  be 
thoroughly  clear,  although  the  bath  may  have  been  very  much 
discolored  when  it  was  poured  into  the  bottle  the  night  before. 
Let  there  always  be  a  sediment  of  carbonate  of  silver  in  the  bot¬ 
tle,  and  every  other  night  add  a  few  drops  of  the  sal  soda.  Keep 
an  “adding  solution”  always  on  hand,  made  up  a  little  stronger, 
and  as  just  described  above,  and  every  night,  after  a  hard  day's 
work,  add  a  sufficient  quantity  thereto  to  keep  up  the  quantity, 
but  as  to  keeping  up  the  strength  of  the  bath,  a  half-ounce  of 
a  solution  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  grains  strong  of  silver  to 
the  ounce  of  water  should  be  added  after  every  four  sheets  have 
been  silvered.  The  writer  has  used  a  bath  of  this  kind  for 
months,  and  although  the  bath  has  often  been  very  foul  at  night 
when  poured  in  the  bottles,  it  has  never  failed  to  be  clear  in  the 
morning. 

Citric  acid  is  also  sometimes  added  to  the  printing-bath  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  according  to  the  time  the  paper  is  re¬ 
quired  to  be  kept,  for  this  is  principally  the  reason  why  the  acid 
is  added. 

When  the  paper  is  only  required  to  be  kept  a  day  or  so  after 
sensitizing  (so  as  to  prevent  it  from  turning  yellow  by  being  kept 
over  night,  on  account  of  a  sudden  storm,  etc.),  the  solution  is 
made  a  very  little  acid,  viz.,  a  few  drops  of  a  weak  solution 
being  added.  Fume  fifteen  minutes.  The  paper  will  print  a 
little  red,  but  it  will  most  probably  be  very  rich, .but  this  depends 
upon  the  negatives,  etc.  If  it  is  desired  to  keep  the  paper  a 
longer  time,  see  Chapter  V,  Part  I. 

The  “citric  acid  printing-bath”  should  be  tested  at  least 
every  morning,  if  not  oftener,  to  ascertain  the  degree  of  acidity. 
Never  let  your  bath  be  acid  with  nitric  acid,  unless  it  is  very,  very 
slightly  so,  as  the  prints,  besides  being  of  a  poor  (photographically 
considered)  red  color,  are  very  liable  to  be  weak  and  flat. 

Nitrate  of  ammonia  is  very  often  used  in  the  printing-bath,  in 
the  proportion  of  as  many  grains  of  the  nitrate  to  the  ounce  of 
water  as  there  may  have  been  grains  of  nitrate  of  silver  added. 
After  adding  the  nitrate  of  ammonia  to  the  printing-bath  make 
slightly  alkaline  with  liquid  ammonia. 

3 


26 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


Sunning  the  bath  for  about  half  an  hour  or  so  after  the  nitrate 
of  ammonia  has  been  added  and  the  solution  made  alkaline,  is  a 
good  plan.  Filter  before  use.  A  few  formulte  for  baths  for  print¬ 
ing  are  now  given,  which  have  been  found  excellent. 

No.  I. — Crystal  Nitrate  of  Silver,  ....  40  grains. 

Nitrate  of  Ammonia,  .  .  .  .  •  35  “ 

Filtered  Rain-water,  ...  .1  ounce. 

Saturated  Solution  Bicarbonate  of  Soda,  about  8  to  10  drops, 


or  enough  to  make  the  bath  slightly  alkaline.  In  place  of  the 
sodium,  liq.  ammonia  can  be  used  equally  as  well.  Make  up  a 
sufficient  quantity,  and  before  filtering  through  cotton,  place  a 
lump  of  alum  in  the  funnel,  about  quarter  the  size  of  an  ordinary 
butternut.  In  the  winter  season,  increase  (about  eight  grains) 
the  strength  of  each  of  the  nitrates. 


No.  2. — Nitrate  of  Silver, 
Nitrate  of  Soda, 
Glycerin, 

Pure  Water, 


2]/2  ounces. 


•  3 
.  40 


<< 


Make  it  a  little  alkaline  with  aqua  ammonia.  This  bath  is  very- 
good,  indeed,  for  the  “Clemons”  brand  of  paper,  and  can  be 
used  also  for  the  “Hovey”  brand;  but  for  the  latter  paper  we 
would  recommend  a  bath  as  follows : 


No.  3. — Nitrate  of  Silver, 

Nitrate  of  Ammonia, 
Pure  Water, 


30  grains. 


30 


it 


i  ounce. 


Make  alkaline  with  ammonia,  and  add  alum  while  filtering,  as 
given  above;  or,  if  you  prefer,  add  a  grain  of  the  alum  to  every 
ounce  of  the  solution.  The  latter  is  probably  the  best.  The 
alum,  if  added  in  this  way,  should  be  added  before  the  bath  is 
filtered. 

Float  the  paper,  being  sure  that  it  is  a  little  damp  beforehand, 
from  twenty  to  thirty  seconds  ;  draw  over  a  rod,  and  blot  off  the 
superfluous  quantity  of  silver  that  is  still  on  the  paper  between 
large  sheets  of  white  bibulous  paper;  dry  quickly  and  thoroughly, 
and  fume  ten  minutes. 

The  Extra  Brilliant  S.  &  M.  Dresden  paper  works  finely  with 
a  plain  silver  bath  of  fifty-five  to  sixty-five  grains  strong  of  silver 
to  the  ounce  of  water,  according  to  the  time  of  the  year,  and 


THE  POSITIVE  BATH  FOR  ALBUMEN  PAPER. 


27 


from  one  to  one  and  a  half  minutes’  silvering.  Fume  not  over 
two  or  three  minutes. 

The  above  formulae  and  modes  of  working  are  for  summer  use 
but  for  winter  the  temperature  of  the  solution  should  not  be 
below  fifty  degrees,  and  the  strength  of  the  nitrates  should  be 
increased  as  well  as  the  time  of  floating.  Print,  in  the  winter, 
in  the  printing-room  under  glass,  and  do  not  keep  the  tempera¬ 
ture  of  the  room  below  fifty  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

There  are  some  photographists  who  prefer  an  acid  positive  bath 
to  an  alkaline  or  a  neutral  one,  because  the  resulting  prints  are 
red,  and  the  red  tone  (which  was  so  much  in  vogue  at  the  time 
of  writing  the  first  edition  of  this  book)  is  more  easily  obtained 
(?),  so  they  say. 

If  the  bath  is  acid  with  nitric  acid  the  result  will  not  be  as  fine 
as  it  would  be  if  citric  acid  were  used,  as  the  bath,  if  any  more 
than  very  slightly  acid  with  nitric  acid,  would  so  affect  the  paper 
floated  upon  it,  that  it  would  present  a  disagreeable  red  tone, 
often  being  weak  and  flat.  The  best  results  are  obtainable  with 
a  bath  which  is  either  a  trifle  alkaline  or  just  neutral.  A  good 
way  to  regulate  the  alkalinity  of  the  printing-bath,  is  to  note  the 
way  the  paper  is  printing,  and  act  accordingly.  If  it  prints  too 
blue,  a  drop  or  so  of  nitric  acid,  C.  P.,  should  be  added  to  the 
bath;  if  too  red, then  a  few  drops  of  liquid  ammonia.  In  testing 
this  way,  however,  the  printer  should  be  sure  that  the  paper  is 
properly  finned,  and  that  the  results  are  not  occasioned  by  poor 
judgment  in  fuming.  Place  a  piece  of  blue  litmus-paper  into  the 
solution  before  you  commence  to  “doctor”  the  bath,  and  note 
the  exact  color  it  turns. 

Nitric  acid  should  always  be  added  to  the  positive  bath  when  it 
is  not  desired  to  make  the  solution  acid  for  the  purpose  of  printing 
red,  but  only  to  lessen  the  alkalinity  of  the  bath. 


RECTIFYING  THE  POSITIVE  BATH. 

The  bath  discolors,  after  it  has  been  used  for  some  time,  owing 
to  the  albumen  of  the  paper  being  left  in  it  after  floating,  or  dirt 
and  other  impurities  having  got  into  it  through  accident;  or  by 
leaving  the  dish  uncovered  when  the  bath  was  not  in  use ;  imper- 


28 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


feet  filtrations,  and  chemical  matter  which  was  impure,  and  by 
age  having  shown  itself,  also  cause  discoloration. 

Permanganate  of  Potash. — When  the  bath  is  only  a  little  dis¬ 
colored,  and  it  is  a  new  one,  this  solution  for  awhile  will  answer 
capitally: 

Permanganate  of  Potash,  .  .  .  .  .60  grains. 

Pure  Water,  ........  6  ounces. 

Add  about  half  a  dozen  drops,  and  stir  the  solution  well  with 
a  clean  glass  rod.  At  first  the  bath  will  turn  a  dark  rose  color, 
and  it  will  then  considerably  lighten,  and  if  it  does  not  stay  so, 
but  utterly  disappears,  then  add  a  few  drops  more  until  a  tempo¬ 
rary  rose  color  remains.  Now  place  the  bath  out  in  strong  sun¬ 
light  for  half  an  hour,  and  after  it  has  thoroughly  cleared,  and 
the  rose  color  disappears,  the  organic  matter  can,  in  a  great 
measure,  be  filtered  out. 

Mr.  Elbert  Anderson  in  his  book,  The  Skylight  and  the  Dark¬ 
room,  accounts  for  the  action  of  this  permanganate  as  follows: 

“As  soon  as  the  permanganate  comes  in  contact  with  the  bath, 
the  organic  matter  becomes  oxidized,  and  permanganic  acid  is 
liberated,  forming  permanganate  of  silver,  which  remains  in  the 
bath,  and  is  precipitated  to  the  bottom  in  dark,  brownish-black 
flakes,  whilst  the  permanganate  itself  is  converted  into  peroxide 
of  manganese.  As  soon  as  the  solution  is  perfectly  clear,  most 
of  the  organic  matter  will  be  filtered  out.  Thus  the  permanga¬ 
nate  precipitates  most  of  the  organic  matter  without  the  least 
injury  to  the  bath.” 

Kaolin. — This  is  often  used  for  clearing  the  printing-bath.  A 
little  of  this  powder  is  placed  fin  the  bottle  containing  the  dis¬ 
ordered  bath,  and  the  solution  thoroughly  stirred  with  a  glass 
rod,  and  then  allowed  to  settle  for  the  space  of  a  few  minutes. 
Filter  the  decanted  solution  through  cotton,  and  at  night  pour 
the  bath  again  into  the  bottle  containing  the  kaolin.  Thus  the 
same  kaolin  can  be  used  a  great  many  times. 

Chloride  of  Sodium. — Common  table  salt  is  very  often  used  as 
a  rectifier  of  a  foul  silver-bath,  by  making  up  a  saturated  solution 
of  the  salt  with  pure  water,  and  adding  about  one-cpiarter  ounce 
of  the  decanted  solution  to  the  bath,  shaking  the  contents  during 
the  addition,  and  more  briskly  for  a  couple  of  minutes  after. 


THE  POSITIVE  BATH  FOR  ALBUMEN  PAPER. 


29 


Allow  to  sun,  and  filter  the  decanted  solution.  As  there  is  a 
little  of  the  silver  thrown  down  in  the  form  of  a  chloride,  it  will 
be  found  necessary  to  replenish  the  strength  of  the  bath  a  few 
grains. 

Boiling  the  Solution. — About  once  every  week  or  ten  days,  the 
printing-bath  should  be  boiled  down  about  two-thirds.  Add 
a  few  grains  of  bicarbonate  of  soda,  and  then  place  it  in  an  evapo¬ 
rating-dish  on  a  sand-bath.  Let  cool  (after  it  has  boiled  suffi¬ 
ciently)  on  the  bath  of  sand ;  filter  through  paper,  and  then  test 
by  means  of  Pile’s  test-tube  and  solution.  Add  pure  water  to 
reduce  the  strength  of  the  silver,  and  then  add  whatever  other 
ingredients  you  may  see  fit.  As  in  making  up  a  new  bath,  see  to 
the  alkalinity,  filter  again,  and  the  bath  will  be  ready  for  use. 

Fusing.-—  Place  the  bath  in  a  suitable  size  evaporating-dish, 
and  boil  down  to  dryness  at  a  gentle  heat,  by  means  of  a  sand- 
bath.  Scrape  the  silver  which  has  ad¬ 
hered  to  the  sides  of  the  dish  down  to 
the  bottom,  and  stir  the  solution  with  a 
glass  rod  until  all  the  bubbling  has  ceased. 

Now  turn  the  gas-jet  off,  and  stir  the  mass 
constantly  with  a  glass  rod  until  it  has 
cooled,  and  then  it  will  be  broken  up, 
which  is  very  desirable.  In  an  hour  or 
so,  dilute  the  bath  with  pure  water  to  the 
proper  strength,  and  then  remake  the  bath 

as  just  described  above.  The  organic  matter  will  be  left  in  the 
filter. 

Sunning  the  Bath. — Make  slightly  alkaline  always  before  sun¬ 
ning;  and  to  prevent  evaporation  keep  the  bath  cdvered. 

Filtering  the  Bath. — This  can  be  done  either  by  means  of  com¬ 
mon  filtering-paper  or  through  cotton. 

Good  filtering-paper  can  be  obtained  from  almost  any  stock- 
dealer,  all  prepared  for  use,  of  various  sizes.  Sometimes  the 
filtering-paper  is  rendered  useless  on  account  of  there  being 
traces  of  hyposulphite  of  soda  in  it,  but  it  is  seldom  the  case. 
It  can  be  tested  as  follows : 

Take  a  couple  of  sheets  of  the  suspected  paper,  and  place  it  in 
a  small  and  perfectly  clean  evaporating-dish,  in  which  there  has 
been  placed  a  small  quantity  of  warm  distilled  water,  say  five 

3* 


Fig.  4. 


30 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


ounces.  Cover  the  dish  over  with  a  glass,  and  let  the  paper  soak 
for  a  few  hours,  and  then  boil  the  water,  with  the  paper  still  in  it, 
for  half  an  hour.  Take  a  clean  test-tube,  and  squeeze  about  an 
ounce  of  the  water  from  the  paper  itself  into  it.  This  should  be 
done  with  perfectly  clean  hands.  Now  dissolve  about  five  grains  of 
permanganate  of  potash  in  about  an  ounce  of  distilled  water,  and 
then  add  ten  grains  of  bicarbonate  of  soda  to  it.  When  thoroughly 
dissolved  and  mixed,  then  let  fall  about  three  drops  of  it  into  the 
test-tube  containing  the  water  squeezed  from  the  filtering-paper. 
If  there  is  a  trace  of  the  hyposulphite  in  the  water,  the  liquid 
will  turn  a  more  or  less  greenish  tint,  according 
to  the  quantity  of  the  soda  there  may  be  in  the  so¬ 
lution.  Look  sharp !  If  there  is  none,  the  rich 
color  of  the  test  solution  will  not  be  lost,  although 
its  deepness  may  be  lessened.  When  the  latter 
is  the  case,  the  filtering-paper  is  all  right. 

When  it  is  desired  to  filter  through  the  filter¬ 
ing-paper,  fold  it  into  six  or  eight  different  folds, 
so  it  will  permit  the  air  to  escape  through  the 
spaces  during  filtration.  In  using  cotton,  first 
wet  with  alcohol,  rinse  the  alcohol  out  by  pure 
water,  and  after  throwing  the  cotton  in  the  filter¬ 
ing-funnel,  it  is  then  ready  for  filtering.  If  it 
filters  too  fast,  press  the  cotton  down  in  the  neck  more;  if  too 
slow,  loosen  with  a  glass  rod. 


CHAPTER  II. 

SILVERING  THE  ALBUMEN  PAPER. 

For  the  purpose  of  silvering  or  floating  the  paper,  a  porcelain 
dish  should  be  obtained  and  cleaned ;  when  the  printing-bath  is 
properly  filtered  the  solution  is  poured  into  it. 

Bubbles  forming  on  the  surface  of  the  bath  while  pouring  the 
solution  in,  if  they  do  not  break  of  their  own  accord,  should  be 
skimmed  off  with  brown  wrapping-paper.  If  they  do  not  break, 
the  bath  is  impure,  and  for  temporary  relief  pour  a  little  alcohol 
*in  the  solution. 

Considerable  mechanical  skill  is  required  in  silvering  paper 


SILVER  TNG  THE  ALBUMEN  PAPER. 


31 


properly,  for  by  proper  treatment  of  the  paper  whilst  silvering, 
many  of  the  photographic  printer’s  troubles  are,  in  a  great  meas¬ 
ure,  lessened. 

Many  printers,  in  placing  the  sheets  of  paper  on  the  bath, 
take  hold  of  two  corners  diagonally,  and  place  the  centre  of  the 
sheet  on  the  bath  first,  and  then  in  turn  the  two  sides.  In  this 
way  there  will  be  a  roiv  of  bubbles  (minute  in  size)  at  that  place 
where  the  paper  first  touches  the  bath,  and  which  will  take  all  the 
spare  breath  of  the  printer  to  break  by  blowing,  and  while'  this 
blowing  is  being  done,  the  paper  will  be  silvering  unevenly. 

Lay  the  dish  on  a  bench  in  a  room  darkened  with  dark  yel¬ 
low  curtains  (see  page  17),  and  have  the  length  of  the  dish  run 
from  your  right  to  your  left  hand,  as  you  stand  facing  it. 

In  preparing  to  lay  the  sheets  on  the  bath,  first  turn  up  the  four 
corners  of  the  sheet  of  paper  to  be  sensitized  at  about  one-eighth  of 
an  inch  from  the  edge,  so  that  you  can  readily  lift  it  from  the  bath 
without  having  your  fingers  come  in  contact  with  the  solution. 

Remark. — The  sheet  of  albumen  paper,  as  it  lies  before  you  in 
the  drawer,  or  on  the  shelf  described  in  the  figure  of  the  silver¬ 
ing-room  (Fig.  2),  is  supposed  to  be  back  up,  and  consequently 
albumen  side  down. 

Take  up  the  upper  right-hand  corner  of  the  sheet  (the  length 
of  it  should  run  from  right  to  left)  with  the  right  hand,  and  the 
lower  left-hand  corner  with  the  left  hand,  and  let  the  sheet  as¬ 
sume  a  curved  position,  the  right  hand  being  highest.  Lay  the 
lower  left-hand  corner  of  the  sheet 
(which  you  have  hold  of  with  the 
thumb  and  forefinger  of  the  left 
hand)  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
dish  (see  Fig.  6),  midway  between 
the  right-  and  left-hand  corners, 
keeping  hold  of  the  turned-up 
corner  while  it  is  there,  for  the 
purpose  of  guiding  the  corner  to 
its  proper  place  in  the  dish. 

Now  draw  the  corner  that  is  on  the  solution  gently  towards  the 
lower  left-hand  corner  of  the  dish,  and  at  the  same  time  slowly 
lower  the  paper  on  the  bath  with  the  right  hand,  so  that  by  the 
time  the  lower  left-hand  corner  of  the  paper  reaches  the  proper 
place,  the  whole  of  the  sheet  will  be  lying  on  the  solution. 


32 


T1IE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


The  drawing  of  the  paper  towards  you  drives  the  bubbles  that 
may  be  on  the  bath  away  from  the  sheet,  so  that  when  the  sheet 
is  all  on  the  bath,  the  bubbles,  if  there  are  any,  will  be  along  the 
edges  of,  and  beyond  the  paper.  A  slight  tap  on  the  back  of  the 
paper  may  be  necessary,  but  that  is  all. 

While  drawing  the  corner  towards  you,  and  lowering  the 
others,  be  careful  that  the  edges  of  the  sides  of  the  paper  do  not  dip 
below  the  solution.  If  there  should  at  any  time  happen  to  be  any 
drops  on  the  back  of  the  paper,  blot  them  off  with  blotting-paper. 

Frequently  when  the  sheet  is  first  placed  on  the  bath,  especi¬ 
ally  during  the  cold  weather,  the  edges  of  the  paper  will  curl 
over.  This  is  a  frequent  occurrence  at  all  times  of  the  year, 
where  the  albumen  paper  has  been  for  a  long  time  albumenized. 
Breathing  gently  ( not  blowing)  will  immediately  flatten  it.  The 
principal  reason  why  this  occurs  is  because  the  paper  is  too  dry, 
as  the  moist  air  of  the  breath  plainly  proves,  and  hence  a  remedy 
shows  itself :  keep  the  paper  in  a  very  moist  room  for  a  day  before 
sensitizing  it. 

After  the  sheet  has  been  silvered  long  enough,  it  is  then  to  be 
raised  from  the  bath.  Take  hold  of  the  lozaer  left- hand  corner 
with  the  left  hand,  and  slowly  raise  the  paper  until  the  upper left- 
hand  corner  can  be  caught  hold  of  and  held  with  the  right  hand. 
Keep  slowly  raising  the  sheet  until  all  the  corners  are  off,  and 
then  let  the  few  drops  drain  off  that  corner  which  ruas  placed  on 
the  bath  last. 

Hang  the  paper  in  a  dark  closet  to  dry,  having  that  corner 


Fig.  7. 


the  lowest  from  which  the  solution  was  drained  off  into  the  bath. 
Use  a  spring  nipper  to  suspend  the  sheet  by  while  drying,  or 
hang  it  on  poles,  the  sheets  being  placed  diagonally,  albumen 
side  up,  the  pole  running  from  corner  to  corner  under  the  mid- 


SILVERING  THE  ALBUMEN  PAPER. 


33 


die  of  the  sheet.  An  even  coat  of  the  solution  is  thus  given  to 
the  paper,  so  that  all  parts  of  it  will  print  alike.  The  bath  should 
be  stirred  every  time  a  sheet  of  paper  has  been  removed  frotn  it. 

It  is  an  excellent  plan  to  draw  the  sheet  of  paper,  upon  re¬ 
moving  it  from  the  bath,  across  a  glass  rod  (Fig.  7),  or  if  the 
edge  of  the  dish  is  even,  then  over  that,  so  as  to  leave  the  super¬ 
fluous  solution  in  the  dish.  Do  not  pause  while  drawing  the  sheet 
over  the  rod,  as  it  will  show  a  mark  in  printing, 

The  author  is  very  much  in  favor  of  using  blotting-paper  for 
the  purpose  of  blotting  the  paper,  as  it  leaves  the  bath  (Fig.  8), 
and  then  give  the  final 
drying  to  the  paper  by 
artificial  heat. 

After  the  bath  has 
been  standing  for  some 
time  without  being  in 
use,  there  will  be  a  red¬ 
dish  scum  on  the  surface 
of  it,  which  should  be 
removed  with  strips  of 
white  bibulous  paper  before  another  sheet  is  floated.  The  time 
for  floating  the  paper  depends  upon  the  strength  of  the  bath,  the 
temperature  of  both  the  bath  and  weather,  the  brand  of  paper 
used,  and  the  class  of  negatives  that  are  to  be  printed. 

As  a  general  thing  the  paper  is  floated  from  twenty  to  sixty 
seconds  in  the  summer,  while  in  the  winter  season  it  is  floated 
from  forty-five  seconds  to  one  minute  and  three-quarters,  but  as 
there  are  so  many  local  things  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  state  exactly  how  long  the  paper  will  have 
to  be  floated,  and  the  beginner  will  have  to  make  this  his  con¬ 
stant  study,  to  learn  the  exact  number  of  seconds  necessary. 

The  double  albumenized  paper  should  be  silvered  a  little  longer 
time  than  the  single,  and  to  prevent  cracking  of  the  film,  the  paper 
should  be  a  trifle  damp  before  handling  it  for  floating,  and  the 
finished  prints,  after  washing,  should  be  kept  wet  until  mounted. 

When  the  bath  is  not  in  use,  and  you  do  not  expect  to  use  it 
again  during  the  day,  pour  it  back  into  the  bottle  at  once,  and 
place  it  out  to  sun.  If  you  do  expect  to  use  it  again,  keep  it 
covered  up  until  wanted. 


34 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


CHAPTER  III. 

DRYING  THE  PAPER. 

[See  Silvering-room,  Fig.  2.J 

The  sheets  of  paper,  while  drying,  should,  of  course,  be  kept 
away  from  white  light,  and  dried  by  means  of  a  small  je.  of  gas 
or  a  gas-stove,  a  soapstone  about  6x8  inches  in  size  being  placed 
over  it. 

In  the  summer-time  the  paper  dries  quite  quickly,  and  the  gas, 
therefore,  is  not  needed  until  the  latter  part  of  the  silvering,  and 
then  only  for  a  few  minutes,  to  dispel  the  slight  moisture,  if 
objectionable,  that  remains  on  the  paper.  Never  allow,  as  a 
practice,  the  paper  to  dry  spontaneously,  unless  in  a  very  warm 
room,  as  the  surface  dries  dead  in  lustre,  but  when  heat  is  used 
it  imparts  a  brilliancy  to  the  surface  which  is  of  material  benefit 
to  the  paper  in  its  future  stages,  even  before  the  completion 
of  the  printing  process.  To  prevent  the  paper  from  curling  up 
while  drying,  a  stick,  having  a  spring  nipper  attached  to  each 
end,  is  fastened  to  the  lower  part  of  the  sheet. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FUMING  THE  PAPER. 

The  paper,  when  thoroughly  dry,  is  to  be  fumed.  The  advan¬ 
tages  of  fuming  are: 

1.  The  paper  prints  richer,  quicker,  and  more  brilliant. 

2.  The  prints  tone  easier  and  the  finished  pictures  are  much 
more  pleasing  and  satisfactory. 

The  printed  fumed  paper  (when  the  nitrate  bath  is  in  good 
order,  and  worked  properly),  will  print  a  very  rich  purple  tone, 
tending  slightly  to  blue  in  the  hair,  background,  and  light 
shadows,  while  in  the  deepest  shades  the  color  will  be  very  bril- 


FUMING  THE  PAPER. 


35 


liant  and  beautiful.  It  is  well  known  by  experienced  printers  that 
the  better  the  paper  prints,  the  better  will  be  the  finished  pictures, 
and  since  fuming  undoubtedly  improves  the  printing-paper,  it  has 
come  to  be  a  very  necessary  part  of  the  printing  process. 

Fig.  9.  The  construction  of  the  fuming-box  is  very  simple. 
Take  any  common  wooden  box  large  enough  for  the  purpose,  and 
make  a  door  of  suitable  size  for  it,  which,  when  shut,  will  totally 


Fit;  9 


exclude  all  light.  Make  a  false  bottom  in  this  about  six  inches 
or  so  from  the  real  one,  and  perforate  it  with  holes  of  about  the 
size  an  extra  large  gimlet  would  make.  These  holes  should  be 
exceedingly  numerous,  and  at  the  centre  of  the  board  there 
should  be,  if  anything,  a  smaller  number  of  them,  because  the 
saucer  containing  the  liquid  ammonia  is  generally  placed  at  the 
centre  of  the  real  bottom  of  the  box. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  better,  since  it  does  not  retard  the  time 
of  fuming  so  much,  to  have  a  fine  wire  gauze  placed  about  the 
same  number  of  inches  from  the  bottom  of  the  box,  as  was 
recommended  above  for  the  false  bottom,  and  then  the  fumes  of 
the  ammonia  will  ascend  more  rapidly.  A  piece  of  pasteboard 


36 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


could  be  placed  advantageously  at  the  centre  of  the  gauze,  over 
the  saucer,  for  the  purpose  of  equalizing  the  fuming. 

The  sheets  could  be  suspended  in  this  box,  by  having  a  nipper 
nailed  at  each  end  of  a  stick  of  sufficient  length,  which  is  fastened 
at  the  top  of  the  box,  parallel  to  the  bottom  of  the  box.  Several 
of  these  strips  could  be  placed  at  about  three  inches  apart,  and 
thus  quite  a  number  of  sheets  could  be  fumed  at  one  time. 

The  common  concentrated  liquid  ammonia  is  generally  used 
to  fume  the  paper,  about  half  an  ounce  of  it  being  placed  in  a 
saucer  at  the  bottom  of  the  box.  Carbonate  of  ammonia  is  used 
by  some  on  account  of  its  cheapness,  but  it  is  rather  an  inefficient 
mode  of  fuming.  A  little  of  the  liquid  poured  on  the  carbonate 
answers  very  well. 

Sometimes,  during  damp  weather,  the  fuming  of  the  paper  is 
attended  with  unsatisfactory  results,  on  account  of  the  great  moist¬ 
ure  of  the  paper,  which  tends  towards  turning  it  yellow;  but  this 
is  generally  overcome  by  pouring  a  little  chloride  of  lime  on  the 
bottom  of  the  box.  This  chloride  of  lime  has  powerful  bleach¬ 
ing  qualities,  and  prevents  the  paper  from  turning  yellow.  It 
also  improves  the  printing  qualities  of  the  paper  in  such  weather, 
and  imparts  a  virgin  whiteness  to  vignettes. 

The  time  of  fuming  the  paper  depends  upon  the  state  of  the 
nitrate-bath,  the  quality  of  the  negatives,  the  temperature  of  the 
weather,  and  the  brightness  of  the  light. 

Paper  silvered  on  an  acid  bath  needs  much  longer  fuming  than 
when  silvered  on  an  alkaline  or  a  neutral  one ;  paper  for  intense 
negatives  less  fuming  than  weak  ones ;  during  the  summer  less 
fuming  than  during  the  winter ;  and  on  a  dark  day  less  of  fuming 
is  required  than  on  a  bright  day.  All  these  things  are  to  be  taken 
into  account,  and  the  beginner  will  do  well  to  note  them  care¬ 
fully.  As  in  the  case  of  floating  the  paper,  the  beginner  will 
best  learn  by  experiments. 


PRESERVATION  OF  SENSITIVE  PAPER. 


37 


CHAPTER  V. 

PRESERVATION  OF  SENSITIVE  ALBUMENIZED  PAPER; 

WASHED  SENSITIVE  PAPER. 

For  amateurs,  and  for  those  professional  photographers  who 
only  print  now  and  then,  say,  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  times 
a  month,  a  durable  sensitive  albumen  paper  would  be  an  excel¬ 
lent  thing,  and  for  that  reason  the  subject  is  worthy  of  the  strict¬ 
est  attention. 

For  the  purpose  of  preparing  the  bath  so  that  it  will  keep  the 
paper  when  floated  upon  it  in  good  condition,  such  acids  as  oxalic, 
citric,  and  tartaric,  are  added  in  various  proportions  to  a  plain 
silver-bath,  ranging  from  twenty-five  to  forty-five  grains  of  nitrate 
of  silver  to  the  ounce  of  solution. 

The  paper  is  then  dried,  and  kept  between  large  white  sheets 
of  blotting-paper,  or  in  dark  drawers  in  which  there  is  a  box 
placed  containing  chloride  of  calcium,  which  is  there  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  absorbing  the  moisture  from  the  air,  so  as  to  keep  the 
paper  thoroughly  free  from  it,  which  is  very  essential  if  the  pho¬ 
tographer  desires  to  keep  it  for  any  length  of  time. 

An  excellent  method,  and  which  is  used  very  successfully  in 
England,  is  to  make  up  a  bath  of  about  forty  grains  of  nitrate 
of  silver  to  the  ounce  of  water,  neutralizing  it  with  sal  soda. 
The  paper  is  floated  from  forty-five  to  seventy-five  seconds. 

Make  up  a  carbonate  of  soda  solution,  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  grains  of  the  soda  to  the  ounce  of  pure  rain-water,  and  float 
large  sheets  of  blotting-paper  upon  it  until  they  have  become 
thoroughly  saturated  with  it,  and  then  remove  and  dry  them 
thoroughly.  The  sensitive  albumen  paper,  when  it  is  about 
three-quarters  dry,  or  while  there  is  a  moisture  to  the  surface,  is 
placed  between  sheets  of  the  dry  carbonate  of  soda  blotting- 
paper  and  evenly  pressed.  The  paper  is  then  removed  to  fresh 
blotting-paper,  until  the  moisture  has  all  been  absorbed. 

The  paper  will  then  have  carbonate  of  silver  in  its  composition, 
which  renders  it  very  sensitive  to  the  light,  prints  finely,  and  it 
will  tone  much  more  beautifully,  on  account  of  its  alkalinity, 

4 


38 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


% 

than  an  acid  bath  will.  This  paper  will  keep  in  good  condition  in 
the  summer  for  one  month,  if  it  is  kept  in  a  cool  and  totally  dark 
place,  and  in  the  winter  it  will  keep  two  or  three  times  as  long. 

Mr.  Charles  F.  Richardson,  of  Wakefield,  Mass.,  has  perfected 
a  permanent  sensitive  albumen  paper  for  the  trade,  which  is  ex¬ 
cellent;  at  one  time  I  remember  having  placed  some  of  the  paper 
in  my  own  toning-bath  with  my  own  sensitive  paper,  where  it 
worked  so  nicely  that  it  could  hardly  be  selected  from  the  other 
prints,  so  perfect  was  the  action  of  the  gold  upon  it.  Try  it. 


WASHED  SENSITIVE  PAPER. 


Paper  sensitized  in  the  usual  way  and  then  washed,  acquires 
keeping  properties  similar  to  that  floated  on  a  bath  prepared  es¬ 
pecially  for  the  purpose.  The  paper  when  washed  should  never 
be  soaked  in  a  bath  of  water,  but  only  drawn  through  it  once ,  and 
should  not  be  permitted  to  remain  in  it  one  second  longer  than 
is  really  necessary,  or  it  will  surely  make  flat  prints.  The  paper 
is  floated  upon  the  silver-bath  as  you  would  do  for  ordinary  sen¬ 
sitizing,  and  when  drained  sufficiently  it  is  drawn  through  a  luke¬ 
warm  bath  of  pure  water,  permitted  to  drain  again,  and  then 
hung  up  to  dry. 

Long  sensitizing  on  a  strong  bath  is  necessary  for  the  success 
of  the  washed  paper,  and  the  water  should  be  fresh  every  time 
you  wash  a  sheet  of  paper.  The  used  water  can  have  the  silver 
in  it  thrown  down  in  the  form  of  a  chloride  by  sprinkling  a  little 
salt  in  it. 

An  excellent  bath  for  the  paper  that  is  destined  to  be  washed 
is  made  as  follows : 


Nitrate  of  Silver,  . 
Nitrate  of  Amm.,  . 
White  Sugar, . 

Pure  Water,  . 


60  grains. 
30  “ 

3  ounces. 
1  ounce. 


Make  neutral (/.  e.,  neither  acid  nor  alkaline)  with  bicarbonate 
of  soda;  float  two  minutes,  let  drain,  and  then  pass  the  paper 
quickly  through  a  citric  acid  bath  of  one  grain  of  the  acid  to  the 
ounce  of  pure  water.  Dry  thoroughly,  and  pack  away  the  paper 


PRESERVATION  OF  SENSITIVE  PAPER 


39 


in  the  dark  without  fuming,  being  careful  at  no  time  to  expose  it 
to  the  light. 

This  paper  will  keep  white  for  months  if  it  is  packed  between 
blotting-paper  in  a  box  which  is  made  air-tight.  To  preserve 
the  paper  for  a  long  time,  it  is  necessary — first,  to  prevent  white 
light  from  ever  striking  the  surface  until  it  is  to  be  printed;  sec¬ 
ond,  to  always  pack  the  paper  in  a  dark  room,  and  the  packing 
should  be  so  conducted  that  the  paper  in  the  boxes  should  be 
perfectly  protected  from  the  air;*third,  the  packed  boxes  should 
be  placed  in  a  cool  and  dry  place,  and  not  in  a  place  where  the 
atmosphere  is  apt  to  be  changeable. 

The  paper  should  be  fumed  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  minutes, 
when  about  to  print  it,  and  chloride  of  lime  should  be  in  the 
fuming-box  at  the  time,  to  absorb  the  moisture  of  the  ammonia 
and  to  keep  the  paper  white,  for  preserved  sensitive  paper  turns 
quite  yellow  while  being  fumed. 

Paper  is  often,  instead  of  being  drawn  through  water,  floated 
upon  a  bath  containing  alum  in  the  proportion  of  four  or  five 
grains  of  alum  to  the  ounce  of  water,  or  on  a  bath  of  water  in 
which  there  is  a  .little  hydrochloric  acid.  There  is  some  fault 
found  with  the  acid  on  account  of  its  being  too  insensitive. 
Objection  is  also  raised  to  the  simple  citric  acid,  but  in  the  latter 
case,  instead  of  its  being  too  insensitive,  it  is  the  reverse. 

In  the  case  of  the  citric  acid,  if  the  number  of  grains  to  the 
acid  to  the  ounce  of  water  is  not  too  large,  it  will  work  well. 

Durable  sensitive  paper,  whether  washed  or  not,  should  always 
be  fumed  before  use. 


TONING. 

For  good  success  at  toning  the  citric  acid  (durable)  paper, 
whether  the  acid  is  in  the  composition  of  the  printing-bath,  or 
win  ther  the  paper  is  drawn  through  or  floated  upon  a  bath  of 
diluted  citric  acid,  the  washing  before  toning  should  be  com¬ 
paratively  very  slight,  and  although  the  paper  may  be  red,  you 
should  soak  the  prints  in  a  very  weak  bath  of  acetic  acid  and 
water  (a  minim  of  the  acid  to  the  ounce  of  water)  for  five 
minutes,  and  then  rinse  well.  For  toning  citric  acid  paper,  have 
the  bath  very  alkaline,  and  if  the  prints  should  refuse  to  tone 
nicely,  drop  in  about  six  or  eight  minims  of  a  plain  silver  solu- 


40 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


tion,  ten  grains  strong  of  the  silver  to  the  ounce  of  the  water. 
Stir  well,  and  let  stand  for  five  minutes. 

Warm  the  toning  solution  quite  warm,  and  then  allow  it  to  cool 
to  a  lukewarm  state  before  using.  The  ordinary  toning-bath  can 
be  used  very  successfully  in  toning  the  durable  paper;  indeed, 
there  is  no  necessity  for  any  other  bath  than  the  ones  which  will 
be  given  in  a  future  chapter. 

The  alum-bath  paper  will  tone  more  easily  than  the  citric  acid, 
and  in  toning  this  paper  the  toning-bath  need  not  be  so  alka¬ 
line. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CUTTING  THE  PAPER. 

The  hands  should  be  perfectly  dry,  free  even  from  any  perspi¬ 
ration,  for  if  this  is  not  strictly  regarded  in  the  handling  of  the 
paper,  “  finger  stains  ”  will  appear  on  those  parts  of  the  paper 
with  which  the  fingers  come  in  contact.  In  cutting  the  paper, 
an  ivory  newspaper  cutter,  about  eight  inches  long  and  an  inch 
wide,  together  with  a  suitable  size  pair  of  shears,  are  used. 

In  cutting  the  pafSer  for  large  prints,  such  as  13x16,  14x17, 
16x20,  etc.,  the  beginner  had  best  (to  obtain  the  right  size)  lay 
over  the  sensitive  paper  the  proper  size  mat  that  is  to  be  placed 
over  the  print  when  finished,  and  then  cut  accordingly.  Con¬ 
siderable  paper  can  be  saved  in  this  way  and  be  printed  in  card 
size. 

In  cutting  the  paper  for  an  11x14  print,  the  length  of  the 
sheet  is  generally  placed  before  the  printer,  and  bent  over  one- 
half,  and  then  cut,  leaving  the  size  of  the  paper  about  11)^  X19 
inches.  If  printing  vignette  pictures  it  is  best,  perhaps,  to  bend 
over  a  little  more  than  one-half  to  make  certain  of  the  size. 
The  little  less  than  one-half  of  the  sheet  left  can  be  cut  up  into 
cards,  etc. 

Fig.  10.  In  cutting  cabinets  out  of  a  sheet,  fifteen  is  all  that 


CUTTING  THE  PAPER. 

( 


41 


can  very  well  be  obtained,  and  to  get  that  number,  lay  the  sheet 
on  a  wide  table  (with  the  length  of  it  running  from  right  to  left), 
and  divide  it  into  three  equal 
parts.  Five  cabinets  can  be 
obtained  out  of  each  strip,  or 
fifteen  out  of  the  whole.  J 

u 

One-eighth  of  a  sheet  is  used  f 
for  a  4-4,  one-quarter  of  a  sheet 
for  an  extra  4-4. 

To  obtain  thirty-two  cartes 
de  visiles ,  quarter  the  sheet,  and  divide  each  quarter  into  eight 
equal  pieces. 

Fig.  11.  To  obtain  thirty-six  pieces  out  of  a  sheet  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  for  convenience  to  first  quarter  it,  and 
then  divide  it  into  three  equal  strips  taken 
from  the  length  of  the  paper.  The  pieces 
thus  cut  will  measure  3^x9  inches,  which  » 
will  answer  admirably  for  the  stereoscopic  jj 
size.  Each  one  of  these  strips  of  paper  can  " 
be  cut  into  three  generous  cartes,  making 
nine  out  of  a  quarter,  or  thirty-six  out  of  a 
whole  sheet. 

Fig.  12.  Forty-two  cartes  can  be  obtained  very  neatly  by  lay¬ 
ing  the  sheet  before  you, 
and  dividing  it  as  indi¬ 
cated  by  the  dotted  lines. 

In  making  out  the  above 
calculations  I  have  reck¬ 
oned  on  the  sheet  being 
18x22  inches,  but  it  is 
rarely  that  small,  gener¬ 
ally  nearer  19x23  inches. 

Forty-two  cards  is  all 
that  should  be  obtained 
from  a  sheet  of  paper,  but 
there  is  a  way  of  obtain¬ 
ing  forty-eight,  as  well  as 
fifty-two,  but  as  that  re¬ 
quires  too  much  care  at  first  for  the  beginner,  I  will  not  here  give 
it,  as  it  might  possibly  do  irreparable  mischief. 


Fic 

.  12. 

18  inches. 


Fig.  11. 


N 

X 

CO 

3%x9  inches. 
Stereoscope. 

9  inches. 


Fig.  10. 


4  2-5 
inch. 

6  inch 

. 

22  inches. 


42 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  PRINTING-BOARDS. 


For  the  purpose  of  printing  from  the  negatives  upon  the  sen¬ 
sitive  paper,  printing  boards  are  constructed.  They  are  of  vari¬ 
ous  sizes,  and  can  always  be  found  in  stock  at  a  dealer’s  when  the 
regular  sizes  only  are  required,  such  as  5x8,  x8^,  8x  10,  etc. 

There  is  a  deep,  as  well  as  a  shallow  frame  made,  the  former 
generally  being  used  for  vignettes,  giving  softness  to  the  edges  of 
the  halo,  if  there  is  considerable  space  between  the  negative  and 
the  vignetting  card-board ,  the  latter  frame  generally  being  used 
for  all  plain  printing. 

The  back-board  of  all  the  different  kinds  of  frames  should  have 
soft  pieces  of  cotton-flannel  glued  thereto,  napped  side  out,  on 
the  side,  of  course,  which  is  placed  next  to  the  negative,  as 
this  gives  a  soft  cushion  to  the  back-board,  which  is  a  desirable 
thing.  If  loose  pads  are  used  in  changing  the  frames,  and  after 
a  fresh  piece  of  paper  is  placed  on  the  negative,  the  padding  on 
the  back  of  the  frame  can  be  dispensed  with,  but  generally  both 
classes  of  padding  are  used. 

There  is  a  printing-frame  which  is  of  “home”  manufacture 
(Fig.  13)  which  is  very  popular  among  printers  on  account  of  its 


convenience  when  tinting 
borders  of  oval  or  medal¬ 
lions,  “printing  in  gray,” 
etc.  Its  construction  is  very 
simple,  consisting  of  a  flat 
piece  of  some  hard  wood,  the 
width  of  which  is  cut  into 
two  pieces  in  such  a  way  as 
to  have  one  piece  one-third 
larger  than  the  other.  The 
separate  pieces  are  now  joined 
together  by  means  of  a  cou¬ 
ple  of  small  hinges.  A  button 


Fig.  13. 


is  fastened  to  the  smaller  of  the  two  pieces.  This  button  should 


/ 


THE  PRINTING-BOARDS. 


43 


be  large  enough  to  keep  the  two  pieces  together  when  it  is  but¬ 
toned.  This  arrangement  will  permit  of  the  larger  of  the  two 
pieces  being  lowered  or  not,  according  to  the  desire  of  the 
printer.  The  reason  of  this  will  at  once  be  obvious. 

On  the  front  part  of  the  board,  and  at  the  lower  part  of  it,  two 
or  three  pieces  of  woollen  cloth  should  be  tacked,  which  will 
give  the  paper,  when  laid  upon  it,  a  soft,  yet  sufficiently  hard, 
cushion  for  the  purpose  required. 

The  negatives  are  kept  in  place  on  these  boards,  if  printing  is 
to  be  done,  by  means  of  some  spring  brass  with  wooden  feet, 
each  foot  (two  in  number)  being  made  of  a  piece  of  wood  two 
inches  long,  one-third  of  an  inch  wide,  and  about  one-half  of  an 
inch  thick. 

These  feet  are  fastened  to  one  end  of  each  spring  by  means 
of  some  screws ;  they  are  so  fastened  that  they  will  move  or  not, 
at  the  option  of  the  printer.  The  other  end  of  these  springs  is 
fastened  to  the  lower  corners  of  the  board. 

These  frames  are  often  used  in  vignetting,  because  the  wooden 
feet  are  good  to  keep  the  pasteboard  attached  to  the  vignetting 
block  in  place. 

Figs.  14  and  15  represent  the  well-known  patterns  of  frames 
known  as  the  “shallow”  and  “deep,”  made  by  the  American 


Fig.  14. 


Optical  Company,  New  York,  and  I  would  not  do  my  duty  to 
my  readers  if  I  did  not  place  them  in  the  way  of  getting  the  best 
sort  of  printing-frames,  by  alluding  to  the  superior  facilities  which 
the  American  Optical  Company’s  make  afford  the  printer,  the 
backs  being  opened  not  only  in  the  ordinary  way  (transversely 
in  the  centre),  but  one-third  or  two-thirds  of  the  length  of  the 


44 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


back,  either  transversely  or  laterally.  They  are  made  very 
carefully,  of  the  best  well-seasoned  cherry,  so  that  they  do  not 

Fig.  15. 


warp  or  shrink,  as  is  too  often  the  case  with  most  of  the  goods 
in  this  line  which  are  sold  by  irresponsible  parties. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

KEEPING  TALLY. 

Theke  are  various  methods  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  “keeping 
tally,’’  but  the  writer  will  give  only  one,  which  is  as  good  as  any. 

A  part  of  the  main  printing-board  is  cut  away  for  this  purpose, 
and  that  part  should  be  the  back  of  the  frame.  A  piece  of 

a  common  erasible  tablet  is 
either  glued  or  tacked  to  the 
place  made  for  it  on  the 
frame,  and  a  soft  lead-pencil 
( the  marks  can  be  easily  era¬ 
sed  with  a  damp  cloth)  is  used 
in  keeping  the  tally.  It  will 
be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the 
cut  that  ten  prints  have  been 
printed  from  the  negative  in 
the  printing-frame,  and  when  two  more  have  been  printed  the 


Fig.  If). 


Keeping  Tally. 


VIGNETTE  PRINTING-BLOCKS. 


45 


order  of  twelve  is  finished.  When  done,  another  negative  is 
placed  in  the  frame,  the  number  wanted  written  at  left  hand  of 
tablet,  after  erasing  the  last  memoranda,  and  the  tally  system 
kept  as  before. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
VIGNETTE  PRINTING-BLOCKS. 


In  making  vignette  printing-blocks,  well  seasoned  pine  or 
basswood  should  be  used.  The  opening  of  the  blocks  should  be 
of  various  sizes,  from  a  small  carte  de  visite  size  up  to  an  imperial, 
or  20-24  vignette. 

For  the  “whole  size”  impression,  the  width  of  the  opening 
should  be  three  to  four  inches,  and  the  length  should  vary  from 
three  and  a  half  to  four  and  a  half  inches. 

For  the  next  size  larger  head,  7x9,  the  width  should  be  from 
three  and  a  half  to  four  and  a  half  inches,  and  the  length  from 
four  and  a  quarter  to  five  and  a  half  inches. 

For  11x14  negatives,  the  width  should  vary  from  five  and 
three-quarters  to  six  and  three-quarters,  and  the  length  from  six 
and  three-quarters  to  eight  and  three-quarter  inches.  For  14x18 
negatives,  the  width  should  be  from  six  and  three-quarter  to  seven 
and  three-quarter  inches,  and  the  length  from  nine  to  eleven 
inches,  and  in  proportion  for  larger  sizes. 

The  above-stated  dimensions  answer  only  for  a  trifle  lighter 
background  than  the  average  ;  for  with  a  darker  one,  a  dark  piece 
of  paper  would  have  to  be  placed  at  the  side,  and  if  the  dra¬ 
peries  are  dark,  then  there  should  also  be  a  piece  at  the  bottom 
part  of  the  opening;  for  without  it  the  block,  and  consequently 
the  halo,  would  be  too  large.  It  is  impossible  to  give  the  exact 
rule  for  the  opening  of  the  block  in  all  cases ;  the  only  thing  is 
to  be  guided  by  experience  and  good  taste. 

The  depth  of  these  vignette-blocks  is  probably  about  the  most 
important  part  of  the  making  of  them. 


46 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


These  blocks  should  be  deep  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the 
opening  of  the  vignette  of  the  block. 

Thus,  for  a  4-4  up  to  an 
8x10  size  vignette-block,  the 
depth  should  vary  from  about 
one  and  a  quarter  to  two  and 
a  quarter  inches. 

For  1 1  x  14  vignette-blocks, 
from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
and  a  half  inches ;  and  for 
14x18  blocks,  from  three  and 
a  quarter  to  four  and  a  half 
inches. 

This  is,  however,  very 
changeable,  according  to  a 
variety  of  circumstances,  as 
the  make  of  the  printing-frame  itself,  the  depth  of  tone  to  the 
background  of  the  negative,  as  well  as  faulty  grounds,  etc.,  in 
the  latter  case,  often  especial  blocks  have  to  be  made,  which  will, 
with  the  aid  of  one  or  two  “dodges,”  answer  very  well. 

The  shape  of  the  apertures  of  these  blocks  should  be  like  that 
of  an  ordinary  hen’s  egg,  the  narrow  end  being  intended  for  the 
head  of  the  portrait,  and  the  wider  end  for  the  shoulders.  In 
the  making  of  the  blocks,  the  opening  should  be  bevelled  out 
quite  a  distance  towards  the  under  part  of  the  block,  all  of  the 
way  from  two  to  four  inches,  according  to  the  size,  so  that  it  will 
not  stop  the  halo  from  printing  out,  and  thus  occasion  a  sharp 
line  on  the  print. 

The  weight  of  the  vignette-blocks,  of  the  larger  sizes  especially, 
can  be  lessened  by  tacking  thick  pasteboard  to  the  under  part. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  perusal  of  the  above  that  we  have  alto¬ 
gether  omitted  writing  anything  about  a  vignette-block  smaller 
than  a  “whole-size,”  because,  for  these  small  sizes,  it  is  not 
thought  best  to  use  wooden  vignette-blocks,  as  will  be  shown 
more  fully  in  Chapter  XII;  or  better,  Waymouth’s  Vignette 
Papers,  described  further  on. 


Fig.  17 


TREATMENT  OF  NEGATIVES  BEFORE  PRINTING.  47 

» 


CHAPTER  X. 

TREATMENT  OF  NEGATIVES  BEFORE  PRINTING. 

Before  printing  from  the  negatives,  the  beginner  should  hold 
them  up  and  study  them  by  transmitted  light,  to  see  which  is  the 
best  way  to  improve  them. 

The  negatives,  as  they  are  received  from  the  retoucher,  should, 
in  the  majority  of  cases,  be  ready  for  printing  without  any  further 
treatment  of  the  printer ;  but,  as  a  general  thing,  if  careful  to  note 
every  little  thing,  the  printer  can  in  some  way  improve  their 
printing  qualities.  As  this  is  one  of  the  most  important  parts  of 
the  printing,  it  is  well  worth  all  of  the  printer’s  attention  to 
excel  in  it.  Let  us  here  note  the  several  parts  of  the  negative 
to  be  studied  and  improved. 

THE  BACKGROUND. 

Often  there  are  streaks  (Fig.  1 8 )  running  through  the  back¬ 
ground,  which  should  be  filled  up  with  lead  to  the  opacity  of  the 
surrounding  parts,  when  said  streaks 
are  not  as  dense  as  the  rest  of  the 
background  when  viewed  through 
transmitted  light. 

Sometimes  the  background  is  very 
bad  indeed,  so  much  so  that  the  pen¬ 
cil  will  not  thoroughly  remove  the 
streaks.  In  such  cases  the  negative, 
besides  (if  consistent  with  position, 
etc.)  being  printed  in  a  small  vign¬ 
ette  to  get  rid  of  a  large  proportion 
of  it,  may  have  upon  the  back  of  it, 
over  those  transparent  places  likely 
to  be  visible  in  the  print,  some  trans¬ 
parent  color. 

The  writer  generally  uses  for  this  purpose  Prussian  blue  water 
color,  which  is  applied  by  means  of  a  brush,  in  smooth  and  even 


Fig.  18. 


48 


TIIE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


stripes;  and  then  the  background,  according  to  how  nicely  this 
blue  painting  has  been  done,  will  print  proportionately  better. 

Often  “smoking  the  negative”  is  resorted  to,  which  consists 
in  moving  constantly  the  back  of  the  negative  over  a  smoking 
lamp  until  the  smoke  has  gathered  on  the  negative  to  the  right 
opacity.  Then,  after  removing  the  smoke  that  may  be  on  the 
face,  hands,  and  other  parts  of  the  figure,  you  proceed  to  remove 
it  from  that  part  of  the  background  which  prints  the  lightest  on 
the  print,  and  leaving  it  on  that  part  which  prints  the  darkest, 
and  then  the  smoke,  if  not  too  thick,  will  stop  out  about  enough, 
so  that  the  background  may  print  pretty  fairly  in  a  vignette  or 
illuminated  print,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Always  print  negatives  with  bad  backgrounds  in  vignette  style, 
if  possible. 

Another  way  to  clear  or  equalize  the  background,  is  to  flow 
some  of  “  Hance’s  Ground-glass  Substitute”  on  the  back  of  the 
negative,  clear  it  away  from  the  face  and  figure  with  a  rag  damp 
with  alcohol,  and  with  a  stump  rub  plumbago  on  the  “substitute  ” 
immediately  over  the  places  where  the  stains  are.  Always  print 
such  “doctored”  negatives  under  tissue-paper. 

THE  SHADOWS. 

The  Face. — In  life,  all  of  the  shadows  of  the  face  are  trans¬ 
parent,  i.  e.,  there  is  always  plenty  of  detail  in  them. 

In  a  negative,  however,  this  is  often  different,  the  shadows 
being  generally  quite  black,  more  so  by  far  in  the  majority  of 
cases  than  they  should  be. 

Under  the  eye  there  is  often  a  heavy  line,  and  over  it  a  very 
heavy  shadow,  which  in  life  does  not  show  as  plainly  as  it  does 
in  the  negative,  partly  because  they  are  flesh  color,  and  because 
— unless  the  person  is  in  direct  sunshine — there  is  no  marked 
contrasts  between  the  light  and  the  shade,  and  even  then,  if  we 
do  not  look  for  them,  they  are  very  seldom  attracted  by  an  eye 
unaccustomed  to  the  studying  of  the  different  effects  of  light  and 
shade  throughout  all  nature. 

In  a  photograph  where  everything  is  either  black  or  white,  with 
proper  gradations,  these  shadows  and  lines  are  more  observable 
than  they  are  in  life,  on  account  of  their  printing  black. 


TREATMENT  OF  NEGATIVES  BEFORE  PRINTING.  49 


These  shadows,  etc.,  to  be  true  (at  least  as  far  as  possible)  to 
nature,  should  be  removed  more  or  less,  according  to  circum¬ 
stances  (Figs.  19  and  20).  The  lines  under  the  eyes  should  then 


Fig.  19.  Fig.  21.  Fig.  20. 


be  removed  in  a  great  measure,  in  many  cases  (according  to  the 
age  of  the  person,  etc.),  only  leaving  a  trace  of  each  line  there, 
and  they  will  then  be  as  observable  in  the  photograph  as  they  are 
in  life. 

The  shadows  under  the  eyebrows  should  then  be  very  much 
removed,  unless  there  has  been  considerable  time  given  to  the 
negative  in  exposing,  and  thus  soft  shadows  with  plenty  of  detail 
obtained.  As  long  as  there  is  detail  and  softness  to  the  shadows, 
there  is  never  much  need  of  having  them  lightened  more  than  a 
mere  trifle. 

In  lighting  the  shadows  in  printing,  young  beginners  often 
carry  it  too  far — so  far  as  to  make  the  prints  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  eye,  or  wherever  the  place  maybe,  look  very  flat  (Fig.  21), 
and  thus  have  an  equally  bad  result,  but  in  another  way.  About 
the  eye  there  should  always  be  a  proper  amount  of  shadow,  so  as 
not  to  make  it  look  swollen. 

This  lightening  of  the  shadows  can  very  nicely  be  done  by 
striping  evenly  or  stippling  some  transparent  color  on  the  back 
of  the  negative,  exactly  behind  the  place  to  be  lightened.  As 
has  before  been  said,  we  generally  use  Prussian  blue,  which  comes 
in  little  cakes,  costing  about  seventy-five  cents  per  cake.  It  is 
applied  with  a  suitable  brush  wet  with  a  little  water,  and  upon 
which  a  little  of  this  blue  is  dissolved.  The  thickness  of  this 
color  can  be  determined  only  by  a  great  deal  of  experience,  and 
to  blue  paint  a  negative  nicely  is  accomplished  only  after  con¬ 
siderable  practice. 

The  lines  between  the  eyes  can  be  touched  out  best  by  the  use 
of  a  Siberian  No.  2  lead-pencil.  In  touching  them,  do  not  take 
them  thoroughly  out,  unless  the  scowl  was  occasioned  by  the  strong 
light  in  which  the  sitter  sat,  and  is  not  habitual. 


50 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


There  are  sometimes  very  heavy  shadows  occasioned  in  light¬ 
ing — “  after  the  manner  of  Rembrandt”  (?) — and  the  shadows 
are  sometimes  so  very  heavy  as  to  be  displeasing ;  then  it  be¬ 
comes  necessary  to  soften  them. 

This  is  done  before  printing,  by  placing  a  proper  coat  of  ‘‘blue 
paint”  on  the  back  of  the  negative  and  over  the  whole  side  of 
the  face.  Considerable  skill  is  required  in  placing  this  on  so 
large  a  place,  because  if  it  is  not  placed  on  even  it  will  print  spotty. 

Sometimes  there  are  heavy  shadows  under  the  nose,  chin,  and 
often  in  the  ears.  Treat  as  above. 

It  is  necessary  sometimes  to  prepare  the  lights  of  the  negatives 
for  printing,  although  generally  they  are  doctored  during  and 
after  the  time  of  printing.  For  instance  :  very  often  the  lightest 
side  of  the  face  will  be  too  light  when  the  shaded  side  is  fully 
printed,  and  to  prevent  this  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  blue- 
paint  (as  we  shall  hereafter  term  it)  the  shaded  side  as  described 
above,  so  as  to  permit  the  light  side  to  print  without  overprint¬ 
ing  the  shadow  one. 

Generally  while  printing,  when  the  shaded  one  is  done,  and 
there  is  some  detail  on  the  light  side,  the  print  is  taken  off,  and  the 
blank  white  side  shaded  or  tinted  a  little  in  strong  light,  by 
permitting  the  light  to  pass  through  a  suitable  aperture,  cut  in  a 
dark  piece  of  paper,  on  the  side  to  be  tinted.  More  of  this 
further  on. 

Never  do  the  shading  as  last  described  unless  there  is  some  detail 
on  the  light  side,  because  if  there  is  not,  the  discoloring  of  the  light 
side  will  flatten  it  very  much,  and  thus  be  the  means  of  ruining  the 
prints.  Your  object  is  to  soften  a  little,  and  not  flatten  a  great 
deal,  and  as  before  said,  there  should  be  some  detail  on  that  side 
to  accomplish  the  desired  result. 

In  shading  this  side,  a  very  few  seconds’  exposure  to  the  sun¬ 
light  will  suffice. 


INTENSITY. 

In  glancing  through  a  negative  the  intensity  of  it  is  also  to  be 
thought  of,  because  it  is  necessary  to  adopt  a  certain  n>ode  of 
treatment  for  such  a  negative,  whether  it  is  intense,  weak,  or 
medium. 


TREATMENT  OF  NEGATIVES  BEFORE  PRINTING.  51 


An  intense  negative,  as  shown  under  the  head  of  Printing  In¬ 
tense  Negatives,  is  so  called  on  account  of  the  whites  of  the 
negatives,  such  as  the  face,  hands,  arm,  etc.  (when  viewed  by 
transmitted  light),  being  quite  dense ;  more  or  less  so  according 
to  the  degree  of  intensity.  Such  a  negative  will  yield  prints  that 
will  be  correspondingly  light. 

When  the  negative  is  too  intense,  the  whites  of  the  prints  will 
be  what  is  termed  “chalky,”  and  if  the  exposure  of  the  print  is 
so  far  continued  as  to  print  in  detail  on  those  whites,  then  the 
shadows  will  print  too  black,  thus  making  a  decided  black  and 
white  print.  This  is,  however,  treated  under  the  head  of  Print¬ 
ing  Intense  Negatives. 

My  object,  at  present,  is  to  explain  the  treatment  of  intense 
negatives  necessary  before  printing 

As  such  negatives  should  be  printed  quickly,  it  is  best  not  to 
have  any  color  on  the  back  of  them,  to  take  out  shadows,  etc., 
as  described  above,  because  it  will  then  be  necessary  to  delay  the 
time  of  printing  them  a  little,  to  prevent  this  color  from  printing 
a  harsh  edge  on  the  prints,  as  it  will  certainly  do  if  the  negatives 
are  placed  in  the  direct  ra}'sof  the  sunlight.  Fill  up  these  places, 
if  necessary,  with  lead  from  the  pencil  on  the  varnished  side  of 
the  negatives.  If  one  coat  of  varnish  will  not  take  enough  lead, 
then  varnish  again  with  a  thin  varnish,  and  then  this  new  surface 
will  probably  take  all  the  lead  that  is  necessary.  If,  however, 
this  will  not  answer,  then  blue-paint  the  negative  and  print  in 
strong  sunlight,  after  having  covered  the  printing-frame  with  one 
or  more  ground-glasses,  and  even  with  a  tissue-paper,  if  it  is 
found  necessary.  In  printing  intense  negatives,  print  more  for 
the  shadows  than  for  the  lights. 

WEAKNESS. 

Weakness  in  negatives  is  the  contrary  to  that  which  is  described 
above,  in  relation  to  intensity. 

Weak  negatives  are  very  thin,  i.  e.,  they  are  semi-opaque,  or 
have  more  transparent  lights  than  an  intense  negative,  and  when 
held  to  the  light,  objects  beyond  can  be  distinctly  seen  through 
the  densest  parts. 

Of  course  the  rays  of  the  sun  would  pass  through  such  a  nega- 


52 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


tive  more  quickly  than  it  would  an  intense  one.  The  beginner 
must  remember  that  the  (juicker  the  light  passes  through  the  nega¬ 
tive  the  less  bold  will  the  result  be. 

The  methods  of  treatment  for  such  negatives  are  very  numer¬ 
ous.  I  have  frequently  blue-painted  the  whole  of  a  face  and 
hands  of  such  negatives  (with  the  exception,  of  course,  of  the 
eyes  and  shadows  in  the  former),  so  as  to  permit  deeper  printing 
of  the  hair,  dress,  etc.,  while  the  face  and  hands  are  printing, 
thus  making  the  prints  bolder. than  they  would  be  if  it  were  not 
done.  This  in  a  great  degree  prevents  flatness,  as  the  resemblance 
between  the  light,  shades,  background,  hair,  dress,  etc.,  is  said 
to  be  very  effective,  as  it  permits  the  shadows  and  those  parts  of 
the  negatives  which  should  print  dark  to  print  a  shade  darker 
than  they  would  have  printed  before  this  treatment. 

Printing  under  yellow  and  blue  tissue-paper  is  sometimes  very 
good,  but  the  prints  do  not  work  so  well  in  the  further  operations 
as  they  would  if  they  were  printed  under  white  and  not  colored 
paper, 

Printing  under  a  ground-glass  laid  flat  on  the  back  of  the  nega¬ 
tive,  ground  side  down,  or  a  piece  of  porcelain  glass,  or  printing 
in  deep  shade,  are  all  very  good  for  weak  negatives. 

The  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  what  has  been  said  about 
weak  negatives  and  their  treatment,  will  be  described  more  at 
length  under  the  head  of  “Printing  Weak  Negatives.” 

DRAPERIES. 

One  of  the  most  important  parts  of  a  negative,  to  the  ladies  at 
least,  is  the  dress,  etc.,  and  upon  this  often  depends  solely  their 
liking  or  disliking  the  photographs. 

Wrinkles  in  dresses,  especially  about  the  upper  part  of  the  body, 
are  to  be  carefully  prevented  from  printing,  if  the  wrinkles  spoil  the 
beauty  of  their  otherwise  fine  form.  Never,  however,  touch  them 
if  they  do  not  spoil  the  figure. 

If  the  figure  is  a  standing  one,  and  there  are  many  wrinkles 
about  the  waist  of  the  dress,  caused  by  an  ill-fit  on  the  part  of 
the  dressmaker,  they  should  be  taken  out ;  this  can  be  done  with 
the  lead-pencil. 

Does  the  lace-collar  show  well  ?  If  not,  touch  up  the  lace-work, 


TREATMENT  OF  NEGATIVES  BEFORE  PRINTING.  53 


or,  better  still,  send  the  negative  again  to  the  retoucher,  and  get 
him  to  finish  his  work. 

All  of  these  little  things  should  be  looked  at  by  the  printer 
before  he  prints  from  his  negatives,  and  if  there  should  be  any¬ 
thing  that  you  notice,  and  which  escaped  the  notice  of  the  re¬ 
toucher,  then  you  should  never  fail  to  get  that  artist  to  improve 
them,  by  a  little  more  work,  before  a  single  print  is  made  towards 
the  completion  of  the  order. 

Are  the  dresses  in  the  negatives  white  ?  If  they  are,  do  you 
think  that  they  will  print  well  ? 

Draw  your  pencil  along  the  tops  of  the  folds,  so  as  to  make  the 
dress  print  bold,  by  having  some  contrast  between  the  lights  and 
slight  shades. 

The  above  answers  for  a  dress  that  has  been  about  rightly  ex¬ 
posed,  but  for  an  overtimed  one,  after  the  face,  hands,  etc.,  of 
the  lady  are  printed  enough,  take  a  cloth,  and,  placing  the  nega¬ 
tive-board  out  in  the  sunlight,  keep  moving  it  over  these  parts  of 
the  negative,  and  let  the  dress  print  still  more.  This  is  sometimes 
a  most  tedious  operation  but  a  very  good  one. 

The  negative,  if  you  choose,  can  be  printed  by  placing  first 
one  thickness  of  tissue-paper  over  the  whole  negative,  but  on  to 
the  outside  of  the  printing-board ;  and  over  the  head,  hands,  etc., 
of  the  negative,  paste  (if  possible  also  on  the  board,  but  over  the 
other  tissue  at  any  rate)  several  other  tissues  cut  to  the  size  of  the 
places  that  you  wish  to  prevent  from  overprinting,  viz.,  the  face, 
hands,  etc 

These  pieces  of  tissue-paper  should  be  pasted  on  the  other 
whole  piece  of  tissue,  and  directly  over  the  places  to  be  shaded. 
Do  not  place  paste  overall  parts  of  the  small  pieces  of  tissue  that 
is  to  be  placed  on  the  boards,  but  just  touch  the  pieces  sufficiently 
to  make  their  edges  stick  to  the  rest  of  the  paper.  Print  face  to 
the  sunlight. 

This  treatment  will  permit  the  dress  to  print  darker  without 
the  tedious  operation  of  shading  by  hand  the  face  of  the  nega¬ 
tive  to  prevent  it  from  overprinting.  This  is  particularly  advan¬ 
tageous  when  a  dozen  or  two  prints  are  to  be  printed  from  this 
negative,  and  all  the  time  and  trouble  that  is  required  is  only 
while  printing  the  first  print,  as  the  rest  of  the  order  can  then  be 
printed  like  a  plain  print. 


54 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


After  the  order  is  printed  the  tissue-paper  can  easily  be  packed 
away  in  an  envelope  on  the  glass  side  of  the  negative,  and  thus 
saved  for  future  use. 

Dark  dresses  should  sometimes  be  permitted  to  print  after  the 
face  and  other  parts  of  the  lights,  such  as  the  face,  hands,  etc., 
are  done,  so  as  to  obtain  fine,  rich  draperies. 

Are  there  any  tufts  of  hair  projecting  out  beyond  the  head, 
and  which  you  think  do  not  look  well?  If  there  are,  touch  them 
out. 

Are  the  frizzles  on  the  lady’s  forehead  regular,  and  do  they 
look  pretty  ? 

Can  the  hair  be  improved  in  any  other  way  than  what  has  been 
mentioned  ? 

Are  the  frowns  removed  as  much  as  they  should  be,  taking  into 
consideration  the  age  of  the  subject  ? 

How  are  the  deep,  heavy  lines  in  the  face;  are  they  all  right? 

The  hollow  cheeks,  cheekbones,  and  the  ears;  how  are  they? 

Do  the  veins  on  the  hands  and  the  cords  in  the  neck  need 
“doctoring?” 

Since  we  have  examined  about  all  parts  of  the  negative  before 
placing  them  out  to  print,  we  will  watch  and  notice  to  see  if  the 
places  doctored  are  properly  done  ;  that  the  prints  are  as  bold  and 
brilliant ,  yet  as  soft,  as  they  should  be,  and  if  there  is  as  much 
detail  in  the  prints  as  we  wish. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

FILLING  OF  THE  BOARDS. 

When  a  young  man  first  commences  to  print  he  should  then 
be  taught  the  carefulness  required  in  filling  the  boards,  and  in 
hopes  that  this  chapter  may  arrest  the  eye  of  the  young  beginner, 
I  have  attempted  to  show  in  what  respects  carefulness  is  required. 

When  a  printer  has  learned  to  print  carelessly  then  it  is  very 
hard  to  instruct  him  to  be  careful,  and  consequently  such  a  printer 
will  always  be  making  mistakes  all  his  life,  however  experienced 


FILLING  OF  THE  BOARDS. 


55 


at  printing  he  may  be.  Then  the  placing  of  the  negative  in  or 
on  the  printing-boards  is  not  the  simplest  thing  in  the  world; 
and  then  again,  glass  sometimes  cracks  if  it  is  allowed  to  fall  in 
the  frame.  Always  see  that  the  edges  of  the  negative  is  cut  clean, 
as  rough,  ragged  edges  invite  a  cracking  of  the  glass. 

If  the  negative  is  too  large,  cut  it  smaller,  and  don’t  try  to 
force  it  in  the  frame  ;  if  it  is  too  small,  place  in  a  plain  glass,  and 
set  the  negative  thereon. 

The  dusting  of  the  negative,  to  remove  any  dust  that  may  have 
settled  on  it,  should  be  accomplished  by  a  wide,  soft  blender  of 
camel’s  hair.  To  dust  the  negative,  never  lay  the  flat  side  of  the 
brush  horizontally  to  the  negative  and  then  draw  it  along,  but 
hold  the  brush  perpendicular  to  it,  and  use  the  tips  of  the  camel’s 
hair.  Immediately  after  dusting,  place  the  paper  on  the  nega¬ 
tive. 

In  placing  the  paper  on,  many  printers  spoil  their  prints  by  not 
placing  it  up  high  enough  on  the  negative,  and  then  again  by 
placing  it  too  high. 

Paper  with  metal  and  albumen  spots  on  it,  can  be  very  often 
saved  when  the  albumen  spots  are  not  too  large,  by  placing  that 
part  of  the  paper  containing  the  spots  on  the  deepest  shadow 
parts  of  the  negatives. 

In  placing  paper  on  vignette  negatives,  choose  the  very  best, 
and  never  place  paper  on  them  that  has  the  water-mark  on  it. 
As  a  rule,  always  place  the  imperfections  of  the  paper,  when  you 
think  that  it  can  be  saved,  on  the  negative  so  that  they  will  come 
in  all  cases  either  in  the  hair,  draperies,  if  dark,  or  in  the  shadow 
parts  of  the  negatives. 

After  placing  the  paper  on  the  negatives,  a  cloth  or  two  should 
be  placed  in,  so  as  to  secure  better  contact  between  the  negative 
and  paper.  Care  should  be  exercised  that  in  placing  pads  in, 
that  there  are  not  too  many  placed  there,  as  there  is  danger  of 
breaking  the  negative  if  the  pressure  in  closing  the  frame  should 
be  too  heavy. 

A  few  years  ago  fuming-pads  were  used  behind  the  sensitive 
paper,  which  were  intended  to  fume  the  paper  during  the  process 
of  printing,  but  of  late  yeafs  it  seems  to  have  been  discarded. 

Often  negatives  are  broken  by  means  of  loose  tacks  laying 
around  on  the  printing-bench,  sticking  to  the  pads,  and  then 


56 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


being  laid  in  the  printing-frame  on  the  paper,  and  the  pressure 
applied  ;  hence  always  shake  the  pads  before  placing  them  on  the 
paper. 

In  adjusting  the  pressure,  always  have  it  as  gentle  and  even  as 
possible,  as  strong  and  uneven  pressure  endangers  the  negative. 
Clean  the  back  of  the  negative  with  a  woollen  rag  wet  with  a 
little  common  alcohol,  before  placing  it  out  to  print. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

FITTING  VIGNETTE-BOARDS  TO  THE  NEGATIVES  FOR 

PRINTING. 

In  fitting  vignette-boards  to  the  negatives  for  printing,  there 
are  several  things  to  be  thought  of  and  taken  into  consideration. 

Due  regard  should  be  given  to  the  background,  for  generally 
one  side  of  it  is  darker  than  the  other,  especially  when  the  light¬ 
ing  is  after  the  so-called  Rembrandt,  for  then  it  is  generally  the 
custom  to  have  the  background  on  the  lighted  side  of  the  face 
darker  than  that  on  the  other  side,  and  vice  versa,  so  as  to  give 
boldness  and  vigor  to  the  prints  from  such  negatives. 

When  the  background  is  as  described,  the  vignette-board  should 
not  be  placed  so  far  on  that  side  of  the  figure  that  has  the  darkest 
side  of  the  background,  because  the  vignette  on  the  print  will 
not  be  even,  but  one-sided.  The  vignette-board,  card-board,  or 
paper,  as  the  case  may  be,  should  either  be  placed  more  over 
towards  the  other  side,  or  if  you  do  not  wish  to  print  so  far  on 
that  side  (the  lightest),  then  you  can  paste  a  piece  of  dark  paper 
on  the  vignette-board,  in  such  a  way  as  to  cover  up  a  great  part 
of  the  dark  side,  and  then  upon  printing  it  face  to  the  sunlight, 
the  prints  from  such  negatives  will  be  much  better,  being  more 
evenly  vignetted.  Often  it  will  not  in  every  particular  answer 
to  paste  this  paper  on  all  of  that  side,  because  it  may  make  the 
drapery  print  badly. 

When,  in  lighting  his  subject  for  the  shadow  effect,  the  operator 
allows  the  light  and  shade  to  act  strongly  on  the  drapery  as  well 
as  the  face,  then  the  former  will  print  light  on  the  side  where 


FITTING  VIGNETTE-BOARDS  TO  THE  NEGATIVES.  57 


Fig.  22 


the  background  prints  dark,  and  when  we  place  paper  on  the 
dark  side  of  the  background  to  prevent  it  from  haloing  out  too 
far,  we  thus  in  a  measure,  if  not  careful,  prevent  this  already  light 
side  from  printing  as  much  as  it  ought. 

To  remedy  this,  it  is  often  necessary  to  cut  out  still  further  the 
vignette-board  where  the  draperies  are,  in  such  a  way  as  to  permit 
all  to  print  nicely  on  that  side,  without  permitting  the  background 
to  print  out  too  far.  Thus  the  outside  of  a  vignette-board  will 
often  have  a  very  bad  appearance  as  regards 
the  shape,  sometimes  having  the  shape  shown 
in  Fig.  22,  and  for  this  reason  it  is  better  to 
make  the  vignette  opening  out  of  paste¬ 
board,  as  it  will  be  a  difficult  thing  to  alter 
the  shape  of  an  opening  if  made  of  wood. 

Another  advantage  in  using  average  thick 
pasteboard  is  because  greater  softness  is  imparted  thereby  to  the 
halo  of  the  vignette,  if  the  pasteboard  is  raised  to  a  proper  dis¬ 
tance  from  the  negative. 

The  great  disadvantage  of  many  of  the  wooden  vignette-blocks 
is  that  the  opening  of  the  under  part  of  the  blocks  is  not  bevelled  out 
far  enough  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  soft  halos  to  the  prints. 

When  we  fasten  such  a  vignette-block  on  to  a  printing-frame 
for  vignetting,  the  under  part  of  the  block  rests  on  the  negative, 
and  when  the  opening  of  the  block  is  m^  bevelled  out  far  enough, 
the  diffused  light  will  cause  a  too  abrupt  edge  to  the  halo.  This 
is  the  reason  why  soft  halos  are  so  hard  to  obtain  with  wooden 
vignette-blocks,  and  there  are  some  printers  who  cannot  obtain 
them,  try  as  hard  as  they  will,  because  they  do  not  look  to  the 
block  as  the  cause  of  their  trouble. 

When  the  block  is  not  bevelled  out  far  enough,  the  diffused 
light  entering  will  cause  the  sharp  edge  to  print  just  where  the 
block  touches  the  negative.  This  can  be  prevented  by  bevelling 
the  block  out  further,  and  also  softer.  The  light,  as  it  enters 
through  the  tissued  aperture,  will  diffuse  out  almost  exactly  as  far 
as  you  are  able  to  see  under  the  block  by  applying  your  eye  close 
to  the  vignette-block  and  looking  under.  If,  while  looking,  you 
see  the  edge  of  the  bevelling  of  the  block  touch  the  negative,  you 
can  depend  upon  not  obtaining  soft  halos  until  the  defect  in  the 
block  is  remedied. 


58 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


But  softness  to  a  halo  can  be  obtained  better  by  the  use  of  a 
common  cardboard,  with  an  aperture  suitable  to  the  size  of  the 
negative,  etc.,  because  in  this  case  there  is  nothing  to  stop  the 
diffusing  of  the  rays  of  the  sun,  as  there  is  in  the  wooden  vign¬ 
ette-block,  but  the  light  diffuses  out  nicely  and  softly,  the  softness 
depending  upon  the  distance  of  the  cardboard  from  the  negative, 
as  well  as  upon  the  amount  of  tissue-paper  over  the  opening.  As 
a  rule,  never  place  the  cardboard  nearer  than  a  third  of  an  inch 
from  the  negative ,  unless  in  case  of  some  faulty  place  that  is  to  be 
avoided  in  vignetting  the  negative. 

If  the  figure  is  to  be  illuminated,  so  as  to  get  rid  of  a  defect  in 
the  background,  then  it  is  best  to  make  a  light  proof  of  the  nega¬ 
tive,  and  cut  close  in  and  around  the  figure,  being  careful  not  to 
cut  in  too  close  to  the  neck,  so  as  to  give  an  ugly  look  to  the 
vignette,  which  will  always  look  like  the  cut-out,  although,  per¬ 
haps  it  may  have  a  softer  outline  (Fig.  23).  Place  the  outside  of 

the  pieces  cut  on  to  a  suitable  size 
piece  of  cardboard,  and  cut  out  the 
piece  B,  which  is  thrown  away. 
Place  the  piece  A  over  the  back¬ 
ground  of  the  negative,  about  half 
an  inch  from  it,  on  to  the  raised  out¬ 
side  of  the  printing-frames,  and  after 
adjusting  it  properly,  then  tack  it 
in  its  place.  Paste  a  piece  of  tissue- 
paper,  C  (French  copying-paper  is  best),  over  the  cardboard,  so 
as  to  permit  diffused  light  to  pass  through  the  aperture  when  you 
place  it  out  to  print  in  the  diffused  rays  of  the  sunlight.  If,  upon 
examining  the  print,  the  halo  does  not  blend  out  soft  enough, 
then  place  the  cardboard  a  little  more  away  from  the  negative, 
and  try  another  print.  If  it  blends  out  too  far,  place  the  card¬ 
board  a  little  nearer  to  the  negative. 

The  manner  in  which  I  obtain  these  different  degrees  of  depth 
from  the  negative  to  the  cardboard  without  much  trouble  is,  if 
the  printing-boards  are  not  raised  in  the  making  of  them,  to  have 
made  and  ready  at  hand  in  case  of  need,  some  flat  pieces  of  bass¬ 
wood,  of  different  thicknesses,  which  can  be  tacked  on  to  the 
sides  of  the  frame  when  needed,  and  the  cardboard  tacked  on  to 
these.  Have  plenty  of  these  pieces  close  at  hand,  and  in  tack- 


Fig.  23. 


FITTING  VIGNETTE-BOARDS  TO  THE  NEGATIVES.  59 


ing  them  on,  do  not  use  more  than  a  couple  of  tacks  for  each 
piece. 

If  you  wish  to  obtain  a  halo  to  a  vignette  that  will  commence 
close  to  the  head  to  blend  out,  and  extend  out  to  the  very  edges 
of  the  card,  both  in  the  background  and  drapery,  then  the  dis¬ 
tance  of  the  cardboard  from  the  negative  should  vary  from  a  half 
to  a  full  inch.  The  opening  of  the  cardboard  should  be  about 
the  ordinary  size  of  a  vignette  aperture. 

The  greater  the  distance  from  the  negative  to  the  vignetting  ar¬ 
rangement  the  smaller  should  the  opening  of  the  vignette  be. 

Never  use  ground-glass  in  vignetting  when  you  desire  soft  halos  ! 
but  tissue-paper  should  be  used,  and  a  good  quality  at  that. 

Always  be  sure  that  the  head  of  the  negative  is  balanced  by 
having  plenty  of  the  body  shown.  In  your  mind’ s  eye  draw  a  line 
fro?n  each  side  of  the  face  down  through  the  body.  The  shoulders 
should  always  show  from  a  third  to  a  half  of  the  length  of  the  face 
beyond  this  imaginary  line,  and  the  le?igth  of  the  body  should  rarely 
be  less  than  one  and  a  quarter  tunes  the  length  of  the  head. 

There  are  many  things  sometimes  to  prevent  having  the  above 
principles  carried  out  in  the  vignette,  but  always  do  so  if  possible. 


waymouth’s  vicxette  papers. 

These  papers,  although  they  are  a  great  deal  in  use,  are  by  no 
means  as  extensively  used  as  they  would  be  if  their  value  were 
better  known,  and,  consequently,  more  fully  appreciated  by  the 
printer.  Some  have  purchased,  used,  and  condemned  them  with¬ 
out  the  least  sense  of  fairness  in  their  judgment,  as  they  had  used 
them  incorrectly ;  whereas  there  are  many  others,  who,  having 
used  them  once,  would  not  be  without  them.  The  writer,  know¬ 
ing  full  well  the  difficulties  that  printers,  as  a  class,  are  obliged 
to  contend  with  in  vignette  printing,  to  say  nothing  of  the  time 
it  takes  to  make  the  vignette  forms  from  cardboard,  etc.,  would 
here  briefly  call  the  attention  of  those  who  are  not  already  aware 
of  it  to  the  advantages  to  be  derived  by  the  use  of  the  Waymouth 
Vignette  Papers. 

The  impression  gained  ground  among  the  photographic  frater¬ 
nity  a  few  years  ago,  that  all  that  was  necessary  in  using  these 


60 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


vignette  papers,  was  to  paste  the  corners  of  the  paper  (  after  having 
matched  the  vignette  opening  to  the  figure)  on  to  the  back  part 
or  glass  side  of  the  negative,  and  then  place  the  frame  out  to 
paint  in  the  sunlight,  thinking  possibly  that  the  blending  of  the 
vignette  paper  would  indicate  its  exact  counterpart  in  softness  in 
the  picture;  and  because  it  did  not,  they  were  disappointed,  and 

Fit;.  24.  Fig.  25. 


the  “  Waymouth’s”  were  rejected.  If  they  are  to  be  judiciously 
used,  it  is  necessary  that  the  paper  vignette  should  be  removed 
from  the  negative  all  of  the  way  from  one-half  to  one  and  a 
half  inches,  depending  somewhat  upon  the  negative,  and  the  de¬ 
gree  of  softness  desired  to  be  obtained.  The  frame  is  built  up 
with  strips  of  backboard,  and  the  vignette  paper  fitted  to  the 
negative  through  transmitted  light,  and  then  it  is  tacked  in  its 
proper  place.  They  are  easily  adjusted,  and  have  the  advantage 
of  being  already  made,  thus  saving  the  time  of  the  printer  in 
cutting  this  and  that  size  form  out  of  cardboard,  which,  when 
done,  is  not  only  a  waste  of  time,  but  is  also,  except,  perhaps,  in 
very  rare  cases,  not  nearly  as  good. 

The  sizes  are  very  well  arranged  from  No.  i,  which  -is  intended 
for  vignetting  large  locket  pictures,  up  to  the  largest  size,  for 
vignetting  four-fourth  heads,  together  with  the  intermediate  num¬ 
bers,  which  answer  well  for  various  sizes  of  card  and  cabinet 


FITTING  VIGNETTE-BOARDS  TO  THE  NEGATIVES.  Cl 


negatives,  either  for  bust,  three-quarter  length,  or  full  figure. 
The  use  of  the  various  sizes  may  be  classified  as  follows  : 

No.  I.  Large  locket  bust  vignette ;  oval. 

Nos.  2  &  3.  Very  small  size  bust  card  vignette  ;  oval. 

Nos.  4  &  5.  Small  size  bust  card  vignette;  oval. 

Nos.  6  &  7.  Regular  size  bust  card  vignette  ;  oval. 

Nos.  8,  9  &  10.  Card  vignette;  various  sizes;  oval. 

Nos.  11,  12  &  13.  Card  vignette;  especially  good  when  good  support  of 
shoulders  is  desired  ;  pear  shape. 

Nos.  14  &  15.  Cabinet  bust;  two  excellent  sizes;  pear  shape. 

No.  l6.  Cabinet;  splendid  size  for  vignetting  three-quarter  figure;  pear 
shape. 

No.  17.  Cabinet;  very  fine  size  for  vignetting  full  figure  poses;  oval. 

No.  18,  etc.  Good  for  vignetting  eight-ten  heads,  etc. 

There  is  another  advantage  gained  by  using  these  papers* when 
“flashed”  or  “grayed”  prints  are  to  be  desired  (the  pose  being 
such  as  to  admit  of  it),  and  it  is  the  facility  with  which  the  gray¬ 
ing  is  done,  simply  by  removing  the  tacks  from  one  end  of  the 
vignette  paper,  bending  the  paper  back  out  of  the  way,  and  then 
printing  the  negative  as  though  it  was  a  plain  print,  for  a  minute 
or  so.  This  has  the  result  of  softening  still  more  the  edges  of  the 
vignette  on  the  picture,  besides  also  printing  the  rest  of  the  nega¬ 
tive  very  slightly,  thus  giving  to  the  whole  print  a  very  delicate 
effect  of  a  vignette  which  had  blended  very  softly  and  gradually 
even  to  the  very  edges  of  the  print.  When  through  flashing,  the 
vignette  can  be  turned  back  again  to  its  place  and  retacked, 
without  the  extra  trouble  of  readjustment. 

If  the  figure  is  a  three-quarter  or  a  full  length  of  a  lady,  “in 
exterior ,”  with  the  proper  arrangement  of  accessories  and  back¬ 
ground,  the  result,  when  nicely  done,  is  indeed  very  beautiful,  as 
it  softens  down  those  parts  of  the  background  which  are  so  neces¬ 
sary  to  give  an  artistic  effect  to  the  figure  in  relief,  'besides  obvi¬ 
ating  the  bad  effect  of  the  white  edges  of  the  vignette  print,  as 
it  would  be  if  not  grayed ;  or  if  grayed  in  the  regular  way  under 
a  plain  glass  with  tuft  of  cotton,  etc.,  it  then  overcomes  the 
objection  of  seeing  the  trees,  rocks,  etc.,  which  start  out  boldly 
near  the  figure,  end  in  a  dead  gray  hue,  without  the  least  indi¬ 
cation  of  detail  towards  the  edges  of  the  print. 

If  the  print  is  a  plain  bust,  then  “graying  ”  under  a  plain  glass 

6 


62 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


is  what  is  desired,  and  is  best,  because  the  negative  cannot  be 
exposed  as  a  plain  print  after  the  vignette  is  nearly  done ;  as 
the  figure  must  not  show  down,  but  for  a  three-quarter  or  full 
length  pose,  with  a  suitable  ground,  it  is  excellent.  It  is  a  very 
pretty  effect  if  the  majority  of  the  portrait  cabinet  negatives  of 
the  class  just  described  are  printed  in  vignette  style,  and  then 
flashed  just  enough  to  be  of  a  light,  delicate  tinge  after  finishing. 
It  gives  an  elegance  to  the  prints  that  the  customers  cannot  fail 
to  admire. 

In  adjusting  these  vignette  papers  on  to  the  built-up  portion  of 
the  frame,  for  vignette  purposes,  care  should  be  taken  that  the 
top  of  the  vignette  paper  is  not  placed  too  high  upon  the  nega¬ 
tive,  but  placed  exactly  opposite  the  top  of  the  head  of  the 
portrait.  If  this  is  not  looked  to,  the  printer  is  likely  to  print  a 
dark  spot  right  over  the  head,  and  all  subsequent  flashing  will  not 
remove  its  hideous  appearance. 

If  this  flashing  is  done  only  slightly,  then  very  great  care  should 
be  taken  to  have  the  vignetting  especially  soft,  by  building  the 
frame  fully  an  inch  or  more,  as  this  delicate  second  printing  does 
not  suffice  to  soften  the  edges  but  very  slightly,  and  although  if 
flashed  darker,  the  outlines  of  a  harsh  vignette  picture  could  be 
softened  considerably ;  in  the  case  of  a  lightly  flashed  picture,  it 
would,  by  no  means,  answer. 

In  using  these  vignette  papers  after  a  while,  the  tissue-paper  is 
likely  to  have  little  breaks  and  tears  occur,  which  necessitate 
patching  up  in  order  that  these  places  will  not  print  in  the  pic¬ 
ture.  In  commenting  with  me  one  day  in  regard  to  these  little 
annoyances,  a  friend  of  mine,  Mr.  W.  F.  Kidney,  of  Chicago,  a 
most  excellent  operator  and  poser,  suggested  to  me  the  simple 
plan  of  waxing  a  suitable  piece  of  white  tissue-paper,  and,  by 
means  of  gum-paper,  to  attach  it  to  the  exterior  side  of  the  vign¬ 
ette  paper,  so  that  in  case  of  any  accident  the  waxed  paper  would 
receive  it,  thus  saving  the  “Waymouth.”  When  tried,  it  proved 
most  effectual,  the  difference  in  time  of  printing  being  hardly 
perceptible. 

One  more  suggestion  in  regard  to  flashing.  Do  not  attempt 
to  flash  very  lightly  if  the  figure  and  surroundings  are  quite  dark 
in  drapery.  In  such  cases  it  would  be  better  if  the  flashing  is 
carried  a  trifle  further ;  but  if  the  drapery  and  neighboring  sur- 


MEDALLION  AND  ARCH-TOP  PRINTING. 


63 


roundings  are  light,  then  a  very  soft  vignette,  very  slightly  flashed, 
makes  the  most  beautiful,  delicate  picture  imaginable. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  I  will  attempt  to  state  what  the 
beauty  of  a  vignette  consists  in.  Sometimes  vignettes  are  meant  to 
supply  the  place  of  shadow,  as  when  in 
photographing  crosses,  then  we  vignette 
in  such  a  way  as  to  have  a  shadow  on 
one  side  of  it.  (See  Fig.  26.) 

The  beauty  of  such  a  vignette  con¬ 
sists  in  the  artistically  printed  shadow, 
and  when  we  examine  such  a  print 
we  experience  considerable  pleasure  in 
seeing  the  soft  shadow  caused  by  the 
cross,  whereas  if  it  were  not  there,  or 
the  shadow  were  on  both  sides,  it  would 
create  anything  but  pleasure. 

Then  again,  the  beauty  of  vignettes  in  ordinary  portraits  is 
the  soft  blending  from  quite  dark  in  the  drapery  and  close  to  the 
figure  in  the  background,  to  a  very  soft  and  almost  indistinguish¬ 
able  edge  on  the  outer  part  of  the  carte  de  visite,  for  which,  and 
the  Imperial  this  style  of  vignetting  only  is  advisable. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

MEDALLION  AND  ARCH-TOP  PRINTING. 

These  are  very  popular  styles  for  printing  from  the  negative, 
both  on  accounnt  of  their  beauty  and  because  by  their  use  the 
photographic  printers  are  enabled  to  prevent  defects  in  the  nega¬ 
tives  from  printing. 

These  are  advantages  which  we  sometimes  have,  and  for  which 
they  are  peculiarly  adapted. 

For  instance,  a  negative  with  a  black  velvet  background  is 
broken  along  the  upper  part  of  it  in  one  place,  and  in  another 
part  of  the  plate  it  dried  before  exposing. 

These  defects  are  in  such  a  part  of  the  negative,  that  a  proof 


04 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


printed  from  it  plain  cannot  be  trimmed  unless  these  defects  show, 
so  much  as  to  spoil  the  otherwise  fine  print.  Such  a  negative 
then  cannot  be  printed  plain,  and  since  vignetting  it  is  not  a  very 
easy  thing  to  do,  on  account  of  the  very  black  background,  we 
can  most  advantageously  print  it  in  either  the  medallion  or  the 
arch-top  style. 

Besides  the  above,  there  are  hundreds  of  cases  in  which  the 
use  of  the  medallion  and  arch-top  are  indispensable. 

To  some  the  making  and  use  of  the  medallion  and  arch-top 
are  a  source  of  considerable  trouble  and  vexation,  and  the  suc¬ 
cessful  photographer  is  very  often  hearing  complaints  from  his 
less  skilled  brother  photographers  of  his  inability  to  make  and 
use  them  satisfactorily.  The  reason  of  this  is  because  he  is  care¬ 
less  as  to  what  he  uses  in  making  or  cutting  them  out,  and  not 
using  them  rightly  after  they  are  made. 

Mr.  John  L.  Gihon,  a  well-known  photographer,  knowing  the 
difficulty  which  many  have  experienced  in  the  making  and  use 
of  the  medallions,  has  made  for  the  trade  some  very  fine  medal¬ 
lions  and  masks  or  cut-outs  of  different  sizes.  To  those  who  are 


Fig.  27.  Fig.  28.  Fig.  29. 


unable  to  make  them  for  themselves,  or  those  who  prefer  to  buy 
rather  than  to  make  them,  we  recommend  the  use  of  his,  believ¬ 
ing  they  will  fully  meet  the  expectations  of  the  purchasers. 

The  common  card  oval  ferrotype  mounts  are  very  often  used 
by  some  photographers  in  making  of  the  medallion  and  mask. 

Some  use  a  knife,  and  cut  around  on  the  inside  of  the  mount, 
but  as  the  soft  cardboard  is  very  readily  made  nicky,  and  thus 
this  nicky  appearance  to  the  cut-out,  this  way  of  making  them 


MEDALLION  AND  ARCH-TOP  PRINTING. 


65 


is  not  advisable.  It  is  better  to  buy  such  as  are  neatly  made,  like 
Mr.  Gihon’s. 

In  place  of  using  a  knife  and  cutting  around  on  the  inside  of 
the  mount,  some  place  this  mount  on  a  piece  of  sensitive  plain 
paper  and  print  the  inside  of  it  quite  dark,  thus  leaving  the  un¬ 
exposed  part  of  the  paper  white. 

After  cutting  a  little  on  the  circumference  of  the  dark  inside 
with  a  sharp  knife,  the  rest  of  the  mask  is  carefully  cut  from  the 
medallion  with  a  pair  of  shears,  the  point  of  which  is  pressed 
through  the  aperture  made  by  the  knife.  The  cutting  of  the 
medallion  and  mask  in  this  manner  requires  a  very  steady  hand 
to  have  the  result  of  your  labor  worth  using. 

In  making  the  medallion,  or  arch-top,  I  have  always  used  brass 
mats  of  different  sizes.  These  mats  or  guides  are  perfectly  even 
and  true,  and  are  made  of  metal,  so  as  to  permit  the  Robinson 
Photograph  Trimmer  being  used  around  the  inside,  without  any 
material  damage  to  it,  if  only  ordinary  care  is  exercised  in  its 
use.  The  “cut-outs”  are  made  of  different  sizes. 

The  regular  size  for  ordinary  card  work,  when  the  head  is  not 
the  so-called  “Berlin,”  should  be  2x2^  inches  oval.  A  size 
smaller  is  used  when  we  do  not  wish  to  show  as  much  as  in  the 
other;  size,  1^x2^. 

A  size  used  for  smaller  heads  is  ir\x  1^,  but  it  is  seldom  the 
case. 

One  of  the  most  convenient  of  all  of  the  different  sizes  is 

xi*(.  It  is  most  excellent  for  the  purpose  of  printing  nega¬ 
tives  of  babies,  taken  sitting  in  their  mothers’  laps. 

A  carte  arch-top,  size  about  ifo  X2 ^4  inches,  is  about  the  only 
size  or  style  arch-top  that  is  used  for  the  carte  de  visite,  and  for 
other  sizes  your  taste  will  dictate,  such  as  the  Victoria  or  the 
Cabinet. 

Common  yellow  envelope-paper  is  best  to  make  these  medal¬ 
lions  and  arch-top  cut-outs  of,  as  this  paper  utterly  excludes  all 
light  that  will  discolor  the  sensitive  paper.  If  you  prefer  to  use 
sensitive  paper  that  is  not  fit  for  printing  purposes,  always  use  the 
plain  and  not  the  albumen  paper,  because  the  latter  will  curl  up 
considerably,  so  much  so  as  to  make  it  very  troublesome  to 
handle. 

When  you  have  selected,  and  have  laid  it  on  a  glass,  then 


66 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


place  your  brass  mats  on  the  paper,  and  with  a  Robinson’s  Trim¬ 
mer  make  a  quick,  clean,  and  even  cut  around  the  opening  on  the 
inside,  leaving  sufficient  paper  on  all  sides  of  the  mats  for  the 
purpose  of  masking  the  sensitive  paper  in  printing  the  different 
sizes,  such  as  the  carte  de  visite,  Victoria,  Cabinet,  or  larger 
sizes,  as  the  case  may  be. 

The  cutting  out  of  these  medallions  and  arch-tops  may  prob¬ 
ably  be  very  difficult  at  the  first  few  attempts  of  the  beginner, 
but  if  he  perseveres  he  will  find  that  a  little  practice  will  soon 
enable  him  to  do  it  successfully. 

Every  mask  or  inside  will  fit  its  own  medallion  or  outside  (/.  e., 
the  one  that  it  was  cut  out  of)  better  than  it  will  any  other  one, 
and  if  the  printer  will  remember  this  I  do  not  think  he  will  ever 
meet  with  anything  but  good  results. 

When  the  cut-outs  are  cut,  and  before  they  are  moved,  they 
should  be  marked  in  such  a  way  that  the  printer  can  find  the 
mask  that  was  cut  out  of  any  particular  medallion  at  will,  for 
this  is  absolutely  necessary  if  he  wishes  to  obtain  beautifully 
shaded  lines  on  his  prints. 

The  way  I  always  do  this  is  to  mark  on  one  end  of  the  medal¬ 
lion  H,  which  means  the  head  of  it,  and  directly  under  it  some 
name  by  means  of  which  I  can  easily  tell  it  from  the  others  of  the 
same  size. 

On  the  same  end  of  the  mask,  and  on  the  same  side  of  the 
paper,  we  also  mark  H,  and  directly  under  this  the  name  which 
was  written  on  the  outside  from  which  the  mask  was  cut. 

To  explain  more  understandingly  what  I  mean,  let  us  suppose 
that  we  have  finished  cutting  a  medallion  and  mask,  and  that  they 
lay  before  us  just  as  cut. 

Now,  on  the  upper  part  of  the  outside  we  will  mark  H,  and 
directly  under  it,  and  also  on  the  outside,  “Heathen  Chinee.’’ 

Now,  also,  on  the  upper  part  of  the  mask  we  mark  H,  and  under 
this,  “  Heathen  Chinee.” 

I  will  remark  here  that  it  is  very  essential  to  have  the  marks  on 
the  same  side  of  the  paper,  and  also  at  the  top  of  each.  The 
importance  of  this  will  readily  be  seen  further  on,  when  the 
border  is  to  be  tinted. 

In  laying  the  outside  on  the  negative  to  print  from,  always  lay 
the  side  marked  H  up  and  close  to  the  ?iegative,  leaving  the  un- 


MEDALLION  AND  ARCH-TOP  PRINTING. 


67 


marked  side  of  the  paper  for  the  sensitive  paper  to  come  in  contact 
with. 

In  laying  them  on,  considerable  care  and  judgment  should  be 
exercised,  so  as  to  give  a  proper  balance  to  the  position  and 
proportion  to  the  print. 

The  principal  faults  that  occur  in  laying  these  medallions  and 
arch-tops  on  the  negatives  for  printing  are  : 

1.  The  head  is  apt  to  be  too  high  up,  or  too  low  down,  in  the 
medallion  or  arch-top. 

2.  The  body  looks  as  though  it  was  either  falling  backwards, 
forwards,  or  sideways. 

The  nose  or  the  mouth,  as  a  general  thing,  should  be  in  the 
centre  of  the  opening,  although  this  is,  of  course,  open  to  ex¬ 
ceptions. 

To  avoid  the  necessity  of  having  to  place  the  medallion  on  the 
negative  for  every  print,  I  stick  the  corners  on  the  negative  by 
means  of  a  very  little  of  a  thin  solution  of  gum-water.  I  use  it 
thin  so  that  it  will  readily  come  off  when  you  wish  it,  but  will 
adhere  to  the  negative  without  any  trouble  or  danger  of  slipping 
while  the  boards  are  being  filled.  In  case  it  does  not  come  off, 
dampen  the  place  a  little  with  your  tongue. 

In  sticking  the  medallion  on  to  the  negative,  only  stick  it  by 
the  extreme  tips  of  the  two  upper  corners. 

Now,  a  print  having  been  printed  in  the  medallion,  which  we 
will  suppose  to  have  been  the  Heathen  Chinee,  we  will  proceed 
to  shade  the  crescent  line  on  it. 

Take  a  nice  piece  of  glass  of  suitable  size,  care  being  taken 
that  it  has  no  bad  bubbles  in  it,  and  lay  the  marked  side  of  the 
mask  on  it,  after  having  previously  wet  the  centre  of  it  with  a 
little  gum.  The  drying  should  not  be  hurried  up  over  a  flame 
unless  the  paper  with  the  glass  is  under  pressure  in  the  printing- 
frame,  because  it  is  not  apt  to  dry  smoothly  unless  it  is  done  in 
that  manner. 

The  air-bubbles  between  the  surface  of  the  paper  and  that  of 
the  glass  should  be  rubbed  away  with  the  finger  before  drying. 
In  laying  the  gum-water  on  the  paper  do  not  touch  a  place  larger 
than  the  nail  of  a  little  finger. 

When  the  gum  on  the  paper  is  dry  the  glass  should  be  cleaned 
on  both  sides,  and  then  laid  on  the  print  that  is  to  have  the  line 


68 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


shaded  on  it,  the  whole  of  which  is  then  to  be  laid  on  a  flat 
printing-board. 

When  a  line  is  printed,  the  size  varies  according  to  the  in¬ 
tended  size  of  the  finished  print.  (See  Fig.  30.) 


Fig.  30. 


Avoid  large  lines  on  carte  de  visite  prints,  c*r,  better  still,  have 
no  lines  at  all. 

On  large  prints,  such  as  11x14,  etc.,  a  proportionately  large 
line  is  wanted,  and  when  done  nicely  the  effect  is  really  beautiful. 
The  size  of  the  line  on  these  prints,  11x14,  should  not  be  more 
than  one-fifth,  or  less  than  one-tenth  of  an  inch  wide  at  the 
widest  part.  For  14x18  the  size  should  vary  from  one-fifth  to 
one-fourth  of  an  inch  wide  at  the  widest  part.  For  Cabinet 
cards  the  size  of  the  line  should  be  about  one-twentieth  of  an 
inch  ;  and  for  the  small  cards  the  size  should  be  about  one-thirtv- 
second  of  an  inch  wide. 

Having  determined  as  to  which  side  of  the  print  the  line  should 
be,  the  exact  place  on  the  side  is  governed  by  the  direction  the 
light  falls  on  the  face,  and  which  is  only  ascertained  by  the  study¬ 
ing  of  the  negative  or  print. 

The  way  I  should  advise  the  beginner  to  shade  the  crescent  line 
is  as  follows : 

Lay  the  inside  or  mask  on  the  print  so  that  it  will  cover  ex¬ 
actly  every  part  of  the  printed  picture,  leaving  only  the  white 
outside  exposed,  which,  if  you  were  to  imagine  the  medallion  or 
arch-top  to  be  laid  exactly  on  the  print  as  it  was  in  printing  it, 
you  will  see  that  the  mask  lies  exactly  in  its  own  medallion  or  arch- 
top  as  it  did  when  it  was  cut,  and  consequently  a  splendid  and 
true  line  can  be  obtained.  In  laying  the  mask  on  the  print, 


MEDALLION  AND  ARCH-TOP  PRINTING. 


69 


always  have  the  end  marked  H  up  to  the  head  of  the  print,  since 
the  end  marked  H  of  the  outside  or  medallion  was  placed  at  the 
head  part  of  the  negative  in  printing  the  print. 

Always  bear  the  above  remark  in  mind,  and  considerable 
annoyance  in  printing  these  styles  of  prints  can  be  saved. 

Now,  as  you  have  the  mask  fitted  exactly  on  the  print,  try  in 
one  move  to  place  the  mask  over  in  the  direction  you  have  de¬ 
cided  upon  having  the  crescent  line  appear. 

In  moving  this  over  there  will  be  a  dark  line  on  the  other  side 
of  the  print,  which  should,  in  all  cases,  be  exactly  as  large  as  the 
intended  white  line.  Bear  this  in  mind. 

The  reason  why  you  should  be  careful  and  have  the  mask 
placed  over  in  the  right  direction  in  one  move  is,  because  you 
will  be  more  apt  to  have  both  lines  alike,  which,  if  the  mask  lay 
in  a  different  direction  from  what  the  outside  did  in  the  printing, 
the  result  will  not  be  so  good.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  have 
advised  the  beginner  to  have  his  mask  fit  the  print  before  he  moves 
it  to  shade  the  line,  and  also  to  move  it  in  one  move,  as  this  will 
give  the  desired  result  without  fail. 

The  required  shade  in  printing  the  border  of  thejprint  is  ascer¬ 
tained  by  looking  at  the  background,  and  then  permitting  it  to 
darken  as  ?iear  half  way  between  white  and  the  tone  of  the  back¬ 
ground  as  you  can  judge.  Many  photographers  prefer  to  have  it 
tinted  very  slightly. 

If  the  background  is  very  light,  then  print  the  outside  black. 

In  shading  the  print,  never  let  the  background  and  the  border  be 
of  the  same  shade,  for  it  will  make  the  print  appear flat  and  feeble. 
Failures  in  this  direction  are  as  common  in  medallion  printing 
as  bad  and  irregular  lines,  and  a  printer  who  does  not  take  care 
to  prevent  the  one,  rarely  does  the  other,  for  they  generally  go 
together. 

I  do  not  give  the  above  as  anything  entirely  new,  but  judging 
from  the  very  bad,  irregularly-shaded  medallions  and  arch-tops 
that  are  too  often  seen,  I  think  it  could  be  adopted  by  many  with 
profit. 


70 


THE  PRACTICAL  TRUS  TER. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

•  i 

FANCY  PRINTING.  ' 

FANCY  MEDALLION  AND  ARCH-TOP  PRINTING. 

This  fancy  printing  is  sometimes  very  beautiful  when  the  de¬ 
signs  for  making  them  are  neat  and  pretty. 

There  are  very  few  designs  for  this  fancy  printing  more  beau¬ 
tiful  than  that  of  the  fine  parallel  lines  that  we  are  so  familiar 
with  in  the  Ereneh  writing-paper.  Besides  the  parallel  lines,  a 
few  others  of  a  delicate  design  are  used  very  appropriately. 
Always  have  the  size  of  the  intended  prints  and  the  fancy  design 
in  harmony  with  each  other,  i.  e.,  the  larger  the  size  of  the  print 
the  larger  should  the  design  be,  and  vice  versa.  It  would  be 
ridiculous  to  have  large  designs  intended  for  an  8xio  size  pho¬ 
tograph  used  on  the  common  card,  as  well  as  it  would  be  to  have 
small  designs  on  large  prints. 

I  have  seen  a  few  frame  photographs-  printed  in  the  fancy  arch¬ 
top  and  medallion  style  that  I  liked  very  much,  because  the  de¬ 
sign  for  this  fancy  work  was  so  very  appropriate  for  the  size  of 
the  print. 

Generally  speaking,  however,  these  designs  are  intended  simply 
for  the  carte  tie  visite  and  the  Cabinet ;  sometimes,  too,  for  the 
Victoria  when  that  style  print  is  made,  but  they  are  very  seldom 
used  for  anything  larger. 

The  making  and  use  of  these  medallions  and  arch-tops  intended 
for  this  style  of  printing  are  exactly  the  same  as  was  described 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  with  the  exception  of  the  placing  of 
the  paper,  with  the  design  upon  it,  upon  the  print,  and  then 
shading  the  line  upon  the  print  by  means  of  the  inside  mask,  as 
usual. 

There  is  also  another  way,  which  will  be  described  further  on. 

The  paper  suitable  for  this  work  is  known  as  the  French  writing- 
paper,  the  thinnest  of  which  should  be  obtained.  Figs.  31  and 
32  represent  some  of  the  designs.  A  sheet  of  two  or  three  differ¬ 
ent  kinds  will  answer  very  well  for  a  beginning. 


FANCY  PRINTING. 


71 


Cut  the  sheets  up  to  the  proper  size,  and  after  placing  your  , 
print  upon  a  flat  printing-board,  put  one  of  these  different  kinds 
of  designed  paper  over  the  whole  print,  which  will  be  almost 


Fig.  31.  Fig.  32. 


entirely  covered.  Now  take  the  proper  mask  and  proceed  to 
make  the  crescent  line  on  the  print.  This  is  rather  difficult  at 
first,  owing  to  the  very  indistinct  print  under  the  white  writing- 
paper,  which  thus  renders  the  shading  of  the  line  rather  trouble¬ 
some.  By  pressing  the  white  paper  in  close  contact  with  the 
print  underneath  in  laying  on  the  mask,  and  going  to  a  part  of 
your  printing-room  where  you  can  plainly  see  your  work,  you 
will  find  that  you  will  have  no  trouble  whatever. 

In  printing  this  outside  let  it  darken  to  the  same  shade  as  you 
would  in  making  plain  medallions  and  arch-top  prints;  and  what 
I  said  in  regard  to  plain  medallion-printing,  about  tinting  the 
border  to  the  same  shade  as  the  background  of  the  print,  is  also 
applicable  in  this  style  of  printing,  the  result  being  equally  as 
bad,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  in  this  case,  that  there  will  be 
a  kind  of  a  fancy  flatness  to  the  prints,  instead  of  a  plain  one. 

Besides  the  above,  there  is  also  another  way  to  print  these 
which  is,  perhaps,  easier,  because  the  French  paper  can  be  dis¬ 
pensed  with,  as  the  glass  to  which  the  mask  is  stuck  answers  the 
place  of  the  paper. 

A  very  thin  negative  indeed  is  made  of,  say  some  moss,  frost 
work  on  window  panes,  hypo,  crystals  left  after  evaporation  of 
hypo,  soda,  etc.,  and  developed,  fixed,  washed  and  varnished  as 
is  usual  in  negative  making. 

The  masks  are  attached  to  the  face  of  the  negative,  but  it 
would  be  better  if  they  were  not  stuck  at  all,  for  the  negative 
will,  in  a  short  time,  be  ruined  by  so  doing,  and  after  adjusting 
the  mask  the  whole  is  then  placed  out  to  print  as  in  ordinary 
plain  medallion-printing.  The  negative  being  very  thin,  the 


72 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRIXTER. 


border  will  darken  very  rapidly,  as  quick,  if  not  quicker,  than 
when  French  paper  is  used. 

PRINTING  IN  GRAY. 

This  term  is  generally  applied  to  photographs  which  have  been, 
or  are  to  be  printed  first  in  the  vignette  style,  and  then  the  sur¬ 
rounding  white  border  has  been,  or  is  to  be,  printed  or  tinted  a 
little.  The  whole  appearance  of  the  mounted  print  is  very  often 
quite  pleasing,  the  darker  draperies,  etc.,  of  the  print  being  of  a 
rich  warm  tone,  while  the  slightly  tinted  border  will  be  of  a 
“ gray” -\s\\  tone.  When  skilfully  done,  this  “ printing  in  gray  ” 
is  a  good  thing,  and  serves  to  give  variety  to  the  printer’s  results 
instead  of  the  monotonous  appearance  they  have  in  some  galleries. 

In  the  first  place,  in  the  vignetting  of  the  negatives  that  are  to 
be  printed  in  this  style,  do  not  show  too  far  down  in  the  draperies 
although  considerable  halo  may  be  shown  around  the  head. 

The  reason  why  the  draperies  should  not  be  printed  too  far 
down  is,  because  in  tinting  the  border  the  action  of  the  light  on 
the  white  sensitive  paper  develops  the  print  in  a  measure  where, 
in  the  first  place,  nothing  of  the  draperies  were  visible.  Bear  this 
in  mind. 

While  the  tinting  of  the  border  of  the  vignette  print  is  carried 
on,  the  lights  of  the  print  would  be  very  much  discolored  if  they 
were  not  protected  from  the  white  light,  and  consequently  a  cut¬ 
out  or  mask  is  made,  which  answers  the  purpose  admirably.  To 
make  this  mask,  cut  a  piece  of  spoiled  sensitive  paper  a  very  little 
smaller  than  the  figure,  as  regards  the  hair,  dark  draperies,  etc., 
but  not  a  particle  smaller  in  regard  to  the  face.  Do  not  cut  too 
far  down  in  the  draperies,  or  in  tinting  the  print  will  be  spoiled. 

The  print  to  be  tinted,  having  been  removed  from  the  vignette- 
board,  is  then  placed  in  a  flat  printing-frame,  in  which  a  clean 
glass  has  been  previously  placed.  Another  glass  of  a  larger  size 
is  then  obtained,  to  the  under  surface  of  which  is  attached  this 
cut-out,  and  then,  placing  the  glass  so  that  the  cut-out  on  it  will 
cover  the  figure  in  the  print,  we  commence  to  tint  the  border  of 
the  print,  keeping,  in  the  meantime,  the  glass  constantly  on  the 
move.  It  will  take  about  five  to  ten  seconds  to  tint  all  that  is 
required. 


VIGNETTE  CAMEO  PRINTING. 


73 


In  moving  the  cut-out  during  the  tinting  of  the  border,  be  sure 
that  no  part  of  the  face  is  so  exposed  to  the  light  as  to  discolor  it. 

Always  be  careful  not  to  tint  the  border  so  much  as  to  occasion 
flatness.  A  very  little  tinting  is  all  that  is  required. 

Cotton  is  generally  used  by  experienced  printers  in  place  of 
cut-outs,  but  I  should  not  advise  the  beginner  to  attempt  it  until 
he  has  had  several  months’  experience  in  printing. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

VIGNETTE  CAMEO  AND  MEDALLION  VIGNETTE  CAMEO 

PRINTING. 

To  print  these  beautiful  styles,  a  negative  should  be  made  ex¬ 
pressly  for  them,  having  an  ordinary  size  figure,  somewhat  smaller 
than  the  “Berlin  head.” 

To  print  in  cameo,  the  same  idea  holds  good  as  in  printing 
medallions,  etc.,  i.  e.,  to  show  sufficient  of  the  body  to  balance 
the  head,  but  very  little  more. 

A  ring  made  as  described  below,  and  called  a  “cameo  ring,” 
should  be  stuck  to  the  negative  that  is  to  be  vignetted  by  the 
extreme  corners,  as  if  you  were  to  print  it  in  the  ordinary  medal¬ 
lion  style,  and  after  placing  the  sensitive  paper  on  it,  the  negative 
is  then  ready  to  be  vignetted. 

In  choosing  the  vignette-block,  or  in  making  the  cardboard 
opening  for  it,  bear  in  mind  that  a  much  smaller  one  is  needed 
than  if  it  were  to  be  printed  in  the  ordinary  vignette,  and  conse¬ 
quently  pick  out  such  a  one  as  will  show  enough  of  the  body  to 
balance  the  head,  and  710  more,  although  we  might,  if  we  were 
not  printing  this  style,  choose  a  block  that  would  blend  the  print 
out  to  the  very  edges. 

The  reason  why  this  should  be  heeded  is,  because  the  finished 
vignette  print,  when  pressed  by  the  cameo  press,  ought  not  to 
have  any  of  the  halo  show  beyond  the  pressed-out  surface,  if  you 
wish  a  very  fine  effect  as  is  then  the  case,  and  the  ring  being 


74 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


placed  on  the  negative,  prevents  the  halo  from  printing  out  fur¬ 
ther  than  where  the  ring  is  placed,  and  since  this  ring  is  made 
from  the  cameo  press  itself,  it  will,  of  course,  when  carefully 
pressed  by  it,  give  us  the  effect  we  wished,  viz.,  all  of  the  printed 
paper  is  pressed  forward  while  the  white  border  retires.  It  is 
almost  needless  to  state  that  the  halo  should  blend  out  quite 
softly,  both  in  the  draperies  and  elsewhere,  so  that  there  will  not 
be  a  harsh  appearance  in  the  print,  on  account  of  its  being  stopped 
abruptly,  hence  the  need  of  a  small  but  deep  printing-board  and 
a  piece  or  two  of  tissue-paper  (according  to  its  quality)  for  blend¬ 
ing  it. 

In  making  the  medallion  vignette  cameo,  proceed  as  above, 
with  the  exception  in  the  above  case,  that  whereas  the  print  is 

finished  as  regards  to  the  printing  when 
it  is  removed  from  the  board,  in  this  case 
there  is  to  be  an  outside  or  border  printed 
in,  which  may  be  of  a  variety  of  shades, 
as  circumstances  may  permit.  In  making 
the  cameo  ring,  place  the  die  of  the 
cameo  press  on  a  glass,  with  the  paper 
that  you  are  to  make  your  cut-out  of 
placed  under  it,  and  then  with  a  sharp  knife  (Fig.  33)  cut  a  quick 
and  clean  cut  all  around  the  inside  of  the  guide.  (See  page  66. ) 

In  using  the  cameo  ring,  proceed  as  if  you  were  printing  the 
ordinary  medallion,  and  in  shading  the  outside,  bear  in  mind  to 
use  the  right  mask  for  the  cut-out  used  in  printing  the  prints. 
(See  Medallion  and  Arch-top  Printing. ) 

If  the  background  is  very  light  the  border  should  either  be 
lighter  or  darker,  but  never  of  the  same  shade. 

When  the  prints  made  are  medallion  cameo  and  are  not  printed 
in  the  vignette,  then  the  background  is  darker  than  what  it  would 
be  if  vignetted,  and  consequently  the  border  can  be  printed 
lighter  than  the  background,  but  when,  as  is  very  often  the  case 
in  printing  the  prints  in  vignette,  the  background  is  very  light, 
then  the  border  is  generally  printed  until  it  bronzes,  so  as  to  give 
a  decided  contrast ;  this  produces  an  effect  quite  pleasing. 

A  new  (or  revived  old)  style,  more  especially  for  the  Cabinet 
card,  but  can  be  used  in  the  smaller  card  printing,  has  lately  come 
in  vogue.  The  negative  is  printed  in  a  vignette,  feathering  out 


Fig.  33. 


PRINTING  THE  BEND  ANN  BACKGROUNDS. 


75 


very  softly,  until  the  medallion  which  was  previously  placed  on 
the  negative  (varnished  side)  stops  it,  but  very  faintly  so,  and 
then  a  faint  border  of  the 
same  shade  as  the  very  edges 
of  the  halo  is  printed,  and 
the  print  when  finished  is 
very  fine. 

The  exposure  to  the  light, 
when  printed  as  just  de¬ 
scribed,  should  only  be  about 
two  to  three  seconds ,  a  sec¬ 
ond  more  often  spoiling  the 
print. 

There  are  a  number  of 

* 

cameo  presses  in  the  market. 

Fig.  34  represents  Chute’s  Universal  Cameo  Press,  which  is 
adapted  to  Cabinet  as  well  as  the  common  cards,  and  is  the  best. 

The  beauty  of  the  above  styles  of  printing  seems  to  be  gener¬ 
ally  acknowledged  by  at  least  the  patrons  of  the  galleries  in  which 
I  have  printed,  if  one  might  be  allowed  to  judge  from  the  orders 
that  were  continually  being  given  for  them. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

PRINTING  THE  BENDANN  BACKGROUNDS. 

Of  all  the  improvements  within  the  last  few  years  in  the  print¬ 
ing  department  of  our  art,  nothing  excels  or  even  equals  that  of 
the  use  of  “Bendann  Brothers’  Backgrounds,”  for  the  merit  of 
which  the  “Holmes  Medal”  was  awarded  to  them  by  the  Na¬ 
tional  Photographic  Association,  at  their  convention  in  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  in  1872.  There  are  many  designs,  and  among  them  a  great 
variety  of  interiors,  such  as  drawing-rooms,  libraries,  etc, ,  and  some 
of  them  with  beautiful  paintings  on  the  walls  are  very  noticeable. 

The  inexperienced  printer  is  troubled  a  little  when  he  first 
commences  to  use  these  background  negatives,  and  for  the  benefit 


76 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


of  such  ones  who  may  not  understand  the  modus  operandi,  I  have 
entered  quite  minutely  into  the  details  of  using  them. 

In  making  the  portrait  negatives  for  this  kind  of  printing,  do  not 
have  the  background  either  too  dark  or  too  light ;  a  medium 
light  ground  is  best. 

When  you  have  negatives  with  rather  a  light  background,  select 
a  “Bendann  Background  ”  that  is  not  quite  as  decided  in  its  con¬ 
trasts  about  the  centre  as  others  may  be,  such  as  some  negatives 
of  libraries  that  I  have  seen  ;  providing  said  library  is  suitable  to 
the  idea  to  be  conveyed. 

As  to  the  artistic  results  that  can  be  obtained  by  the  use  of  the 
backgrounds,  let  us  notice  a  couple  of  instances  which  will,  I 
think,  illustrate  what  we  wish. 

Would  it  be  appropriate  to  select  a*library  background  when 
the  figure  is  that  of  a  gentleman  reading? 

A  gentleman  and  lady  in  outdoor  custom,  standing  conversing, 
he  toying  with  his  cane,  she  picking  a  flower  to  pieces — would 
not  some  one  of  the  exterior  backgrounds  answer  capitally? 

There  are  a  great  number  of  cases  in  which  these  backgrounds 
can  be  used  with  artistic  results,  but  my  space  will  not  permit  me 
to  dwell  further,  and  I  will  pass  over  this  part  with  this  remark, 
that  the  artistic  photographer  can  indulge  in  a  few  such  positions 
as  promenading,  conversation,  reading,  meeting  of  friends,  col¬ 
lection  of  gossips,  etc.,  with  a  plain  woollen  background  and 
backgrounds  either  interior  or  exterior  can  be  printed  in,  suitable 
to  the  dress  of  the  figure  and  the  idea  to  be  conveyed  in  general, 
with  such  effect  as  to  make  the  finished  print  look  like  (what  it 
surely  is)  an  artistic  photograph. 

In  preparing  to  print  these  backgrounds,  first  print  the  sensi¬ 
tive  paper  under  the  negatives  until  finished,  and  then  remove 
them  from  the  frame  as  you  would  do  if  there  were  to  be  no 
backgrounds  printed  in.  Print  the  number  of  prints  wanted  and 
one  extra.  This  extra  print,  which  can  be  the  worst  print  of  all, 
is  then  used  as  a  cut-out  for  use  in  the  printing  of  the  “  Bendann 
Background.” 

In  cutting  out,  observe  whether  the  dress,  draperies,  etc.,  are 
light  or  dark,  and  if  light,  cut  in  all  around,  but  exactly  on  the 
edge  of  the  figure  down  to  the  floor,  leaving  the  floor  in  the  cut¬ 
out. 


MINTING  THE  BEND  ANN  BACKGROUNDS. 


77 


It  may  be  worth  mentioning  here  that  the  floor  of  a  print  or 
negative — whether  they  are  copies  or  life — should  never  be  taken 
out,  or  the  resulting  prints  will  in  every  case  be  worthless. 

In  cutting  out  the  print  mentioned  above,  if  the  draperies,  etc., 
are  dark,  then  cut  a  little  inside  of  the  edges  and  all  around  the 
figure,  with  the  exception  of  the  face,  hands,  etc.,  which  should 
be  cut  as  all  light  things  should  be,  /.<?.,  on  the  line. 

Do  you  remember  when  you  were  children,  how  you  would  cut 
the  pictures  out  of  your  picture-books,  and  how  careful  you  were 
to  cut  them,  as  you  then  termed  it,  “on  the  line?” 

Do  so  in  making  the  cut-outs  with  light  draperies,  but  with 
dark  draperies  a  little  inside  is  best,  for  since  they  are  dark  the 
background  will  not  be  likely  to  show  in  on  the  drapery  of  the 
prints  so  as  to  be  at  all  noticeable ;  only  cut,  however,  the  least 
trifle  inside  when  cutting  the  draperies,  although  more  freedom 
is  given  as  regards  the  hair,  if  dark.  Spaces  between  the  arms, 
limbs,  or  two  figures  should  be  cut  out. 

The  suitable  background  negative  being  selected,  the  cut-out 
is  placed  on  the  back  of  it,  and  the  sensitive  side  of  the  paper 
outwards ,  and  then,  when  a  print  is  laid  under  the  background 
negative,  the  cut-out  and  print  will  lay  in  the  same  position,  since 
they  both  are  face  up,  and  consequently  all  parts  of  the  cut-out 
will  fit  the  print. 

The  centre  of  the  head  of  the  cut-out  should  be  laid  on  the 
glass  side  of  the  negative,  allowing  the  edges  of  it  to  curl  up 
slightly,  and  a  weight  or  knife  laid  on  the  cut-out  will  prevent  it 
from  curling  up  during  the  printing  of  the  background. 

If  there  are  panels  to  the  doors  of  the  interior  backgrounds, 
allow  the  floor  of  the  cut-out  to  run  parallel  to  the  cross  panels,  i.  e., 
those  panels  which  run  parallel  to  the  floor.  Heed  this  last  re¬ 
mark,  and  when  you  have  learned  its  importance,  you  will  see  the 
value  of  it. 

Now  substitute  the  background  negative  for  the  portrait  nega¬ 
tive,  adjusting  it  properly  in  place.  Then  place  the  mask  on  top 
of  the  background  negative,  and  a  weight  on  the  whole  to  pre¬ 
vent  slipping.  Some  parties  use  paste,  but  a  weight  answers  as 
well  and  is  easier. 

For  instance,  if  the  figure  is  with  dark  draperies,  and  you  have, 
as  per  advice  given  above,  cut  a  trifle  inside  of  the  draperies  in 

6* 


78 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


making  the  cut-out,  then  the  print  should  be  so  placed  that  you 
can  see  a  trifle  all  around  the  edge  of  the  cut-out  by  looking 
directly  at  the  light,  and  then  you  should  place  all  in  a  shallow 
printing-frame,  without  moving  it  from  its  present  position,  and 
fasten  the  backboard  in.  A  little  practice  in  placing  these  nega¬ 
tives  and  prints  in  the  frames  will  soon  enable  you  to  do  it 
without  moving  the  print  or  negative  in  the  least  from  their  rela¬ 
tive  position. 

If,  however,  the  figure  of  the  print  is  in  a  light  dress,  such  as  a 
bride  in  her  wedding-dress,  and  the  cut-out  is  cut  as  has  been 
advised,  then  the  print  should  match  the  cut-out  in  every  particular, 
and  a  background  chosen  that  will,  of  course,  have  no  heavy  lines 
in  it  that  come  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  dress,  veil,  etc.,  be¬ 
cause  these  things  being  so  very  light  the  diffused  rays  of  the  sun 
will  penetrate  under  the  edge  of  the  cut-out,  and  if  there  are  such 
lines  they  will  be  likely  to  print  on  the  dress,  etc. 

An  experienced  printer,  however,  can  use  such  backgrounds 
without  having  these  lines  show  in  the  least  on  the  dress.  I 
should  advise  the  beginner,  however,  always  to  choose  a  back¬ 
ground  negative  that  is  rather  intense  at  the  centre,  as  some  are 
purposely  made,  and  then  there  will  be  no  danger  of  these  lines 
showing  on  the  figure. 

In  placing  the  print  on  the  negative,  there  are  several  points 
worthy  of  notice  here  that  should  be  looked  at  to  see  if  they  are 
correct  before  placing  the  negative  out  to  print. 

Look  to  see  whether  the  face  of  the  cut-out  is  cut  as  it  should 
be,  i. e. ,  never  inside,  but  always  on  the  line,  unless  there  is  hair 
on  the  sides  of  it,  and  then  it  should  be  cut  a  trifle  inside  of  that 
hair.  Then  come  the  shoulders  and  arms,  especially  if  they  are 
about  bare,  and  then  finally  look  to  the  dress. 

I  said  above,  in  making  the  cut-out,  to  cut  with  a  little  more 
freedom  about  the  hair,  and  I  will  here  state  why. 

Sometimes  there  is  a  little  light  place  on  the  printed-in  back¬ 
ground,  either  just  above  the  top  of  the  head  or  by  the  side  of 
it,  generally  the  former,  which  is  occasioned  either  by  the  print 
being  placed  on  wrong,  or  by  the  cut-^ut  shading  said  places  of 
the  background  during  the  printing.  The  reason  why  it  shades 
is  because  great  pains  is  not  taken,  while  it  is  exposed  to  the  light, 
to  have  the  negative-boards  exactly  face  to  the  strongest  sunlight, 


PRINTING  THE  BEND  ANN  BACKGROUNDS. 


79 


but  it  is  generally  allowed  to  slant  in  that  direction  which  the 
light  place  on  the  background  may  indicate.  In  the  greater 
number  of  cases  the  hair  is  quite  dark  on  the  top  of  the  head, 
also  on  at  least  one  of  the  sides,  if  not  both,  as  a  gentleman  with 
thick  wavy  hair  and  full  beard.  When  the  hair  is  as  just  de¬ 
scribed  then  you  can,  if  you  wish,  cut  quite  away  inside,  say 
from  one-twentieth  to  one-thirty-second  of  an  inch,  for  when  the 
hair  is  dark  it  will  do  no  harm,  and  will  then  prevent  the  shading 
of  the  background  in  printing. 

After  you  have  placed  your  print  in  the  right  position  on  the 
negative,  and  have  fastened  the  back  to  the  printing-frame,  you 
are  then  to  print  in  the  background,  which  is  accomplished  by 
placing  the  printing-frame  exactly  face  to  the  sun  (see  page  82), 
and  keeping  it  constantly  in  motion  by  gently  moving  it  from 
side  to  side  and  from  top  to  bottom,  care  being  taken  that  it  is 
constantly  kept  in  gentle  motion. 

In  cloudy  weather  several  negatives  may  be  printed  at  once, 
taking  care  to  frequently  turn  each  one. 

Unless  the  background  negative  is  made  as  some  are,  with  the 
centre  of  it  a  little  more  intense  than  the  border,  it  will  as  thus 
printed  give  to  the  figure  a  sunk-in  appearance,  as  though  it  were 
too  close  to  the  background,  as  in  ordinary  negative-making. 
To  overcome  this  defect  we  make  another  cut-out,  roughly  cut 
from  a  cardboard,  with  about  the  same  shape  as  the  cut-out  on 
the  back  of  the  background  negative,  but  considerably  larger  than 
that,  so  that  when  it  is  held  up  before  the  cut-out  on  the  negative  it 
will  overlap  on  all  sides  of  it  for  the  space  of  half  an  inch  or  so. 
This  rough  cut-out  is  held  with  one  hand  about  the  space  of  a 
foot  from  the  negative,  so  that  it  will  shade  the  cut-out  on  the 
back  of  the  negative.  This  last-mentioned  cut-out,  intended  to 
shade  the  figure  of  the  print,  should  always  be  kept  in  a  brisk 
motion  by  means  of  the  right  hand,  while  you  hold  the  negative- 
board  face  to  the  sunlight  with  the  left  hand.  The  direct  rays  of 
the  sun  will  fall  on  that  part  of  the  negative  that  this  rough  cut¬ 
out  permits  it  to  do,  and  only  the  diffused  light  is  permitted  to 
print  the  background  in  close  to  the  figure,  and  the  diffused  light 
not  being  so  strong  as  the  direct,  it  will,  as  a  natural  consequence, 
print  lighter  at  that  part  where  only  the  diffused  light  is  permitted 
to  go  than  where  it  is  not,  and  the  finished  print  will  have  a  de- 


80 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


cided  air  of  relief,  on  account  of  the  toning  down  of  the  back¬ 
ground  as  it  approaches  the  figure. 

Some  may  criticize  this  on  the  ground  that  the  diffused  light 
would  not  permit  the  background  around  the  figure  to  print 
hardly  any  before  the  border  would  be  plenty  dark.  These  back¬ 
ground  negatives  are  quite  thin,  and  in  strong  diffused  light  (which 
would  be  the  case  if  the  pasteboard  were  held  at  some  distance 
from  the  negative)  the  background  around  the  figure  will  be  per¬ 
mitted  to  print  some  before  the  outside  is  done,  but  if  upon  ex¬ 
amination  of  the  print  before  it  is  done  it  should  show  that  this 
part  of  the  print  would  be  too  light,  then  expose  the  whole  thing 
without  the  rough  cut-out  to  the  full  sunlight,  and  permit  it  to 
remain  there  for  about  a  minute,  keeping  the  board  in  a  gentle 
motion  in  the  meantime,  and  then  finish  the  rest  of  the  printing  in 
of  the  background  with  the  aid  of  the  rough  cardboard  cut-out. 

Instead  of  making  this  extra  cut-out  for  every  different  pose 
that  has  to  be  printed  with  a  “  Bendann  Background”  I  use  a 
handkerchief,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  fingers  of  my  right  hand  I 
contrive  to  fasten  it  in  the  shape  I  wish,  with  but  little  trouble 
and  considerable  saving  of  time. 

Vignetted  grounds,  especially  for  outdoor  scenes,  are  very 
beautiful  and  stylish.  The  vignette  is  made  as  usual ;  proceed  as 
above,  only  relieve  the  ground  ;  in  printing  in,  vignette  the 
edges.  Vignetted  grounds  are  best  printed  in  the  shade,  as  they 
do  not  require  strong  printing  in. 

As  to  the  depth  of  printing  these  backgrounds,  attention  must 
be  given  to  the  style  of  the  print,  etc.,  and  then  let  your  own 
taste  be  your  guide. 


CHAPTER  XVI I. 

PRINTING  INTENSE  NEGATIVES. 

These  negatives  generally  print  “ chalky  ”  in  the  lights,  and 
“ inky -black"  in  the  shadows.  In  a  negative  that  is  too  intense 
there  is  scarcely  any  detail  whatever  either  in  the  high-lights  or 
in  the  shadows.  Such  a  negative  then  will  yield  what  may  be 
termed  bold  and  vigorous-looking  prints,  and  will  in  many  cases 


1 


PRINTING  INTENSE  NEGATIVES.  81 

suit  the  customers,  especially  some  ladies  who  like  to  see  their 
faces  very  white. 

To  a  well-educated  person  nothing  is  more  repulsive,  in  the 
way  of  photographs,  than  the  harsh  black-and-white  pictures, 
without  any  of  the  fine  detail  either  in  the  lights  or  shades,  which 
are  now  so  universally  admired.  The  contrast  between  the  lights 
and  shades  in  such  a  negative  is  too  great,  and  consequently  it 
should  be  toned  down  or  softened. 

It  is  well  known  among  most  printers  that  the  slower  a  nega¬ 
tive  prints,  the  more  contrast  there  will  be  in  the  resulting  print, 
and  vice  versa.  Such  a  negative,  then,  should  be  printed  as  quickly 
as  possible. 

A  too  sensitive  paper  will  make  the  contrast  all  the  greater, 
and  our  object  in  this  case,  then,  is  to  have  a  paper  silvered  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  obtain  a  print  less  harsh  than  would  be  ob¬ 
tained  in  the  ordinary  way  of  working  Paper,  then,  should  be 
silvered  expressly  for  such  negatives,  and  kept  separately  from  the 
rest,  for  the  paper  which  would  produce  fine  prints  from  intense 
negatives  would  produce  miserable  ones  from  weak  negatives. 

The  paper  should  be  silvered  only  a  very  few  seconds  on  a 
weak  bath  (say  from  fifteen  to  twenty  seconds  on  a  thirty-five-grain 
bath  for  the  Berlin  brand  of  paper ;  for  the  Hovey  brand  fifteen 
seconds  on  a  twenty-five-grain  bath,  and  for  other  brands  say 
thirty  seconds  on  a  thirty-grain  bath),  and  fumed  just  long  enough 
to  prevent  it  from  printing  the  objectionable  red  color,  which  is 
sometimes  quite  difficult  to  manage  in  the  after-operations. 

After  fuming,  if  the  paper  is  damp,  dry  it,  and  then  after  cut¬ 
ting  it  up  to  a  suitable  size  for  printing,  place  it  in  a  box  which 
is  labelled  “  Paper  for  Intense  Negatives,”  and  always  use  this 
box  for  this  brand  of  paper,  and  then  there  will  be  no  danger  of 
mixing  it  with  the  differently  timed  silvered  paper  which  is  used 
for  printing  other  kinds  of  negatives. 

We  always  use  the  pink  paper  for  intense  negatives,  for  the  color 
of  this  paper  is  of  great  benefit  to  the  print,  as  after  it  is  mounted 
there  will  be  a  delicate  pink  or  flesh  color  to  the  high-lights, 
which  will  look  very  much  like  the  flesh,  and  consequently  will 
tend  towards  giving  the  appearance  of  detail  in  those  parts  of  the 
prints  that  print  chalky,  such  as  the  face,  hands,  etc. 

After  having  filled  a  negative-board,  containing  one  of  these 


8'2 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


intense  negatives,  with  a  piece  of  the  paper  which  was  prepared 
for  it,  we  will  place  it  out  in  the  sunlight  to  print. 

The  more  direct  the  rays  of  the  sun  fall  on  this  negative  the 
quicker  will  it  print,  because  the  light  will  be  correspondingly 
brighter.  This  is  the  reason  why,  when  we  place  a  negative  out 
to  print  in  the  sunlight,  it  prints  quicker  than  when  placed  in  the 
shade,  and  when  placed  face  up  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  it  will 
print  much  quicker  than  when  the  rays  strike  it  obliquely,  as, 


for  instance,  when  the  printing- 
frame  is  laid  down  flat  on  the 
printing-shelf.  Consequently  I 
recommend,  for  very  intense 
negatives,  to  place  the  negative- 
board  face  to  the  direct  rays  of 
the  sun,  as  shown  in  Fig.  35. 


Fig.  35. 


One  of  the  easiest  ways  to  tell 
when  the  board  is  face  to  the  sun¬ 


light  is  to  drive  a  tack  perpendicularly  in  the  printing-frame,  and 
in  placing  the  board  out  to  print,  place  it  so  that  the  tack  will 
not  cast  any  shadow  except  where  the  sun  shines  direct  upon  it, 
and  then  a  place  as  large  as  the  head  of  the  tack  alone  will  be 
shaded  on  the  board. 

The  way  I  generally  do  is  to  place  the  frame  so  that  the  shadow 
which  is  cast  by  it  will  run  in  the  same  direction  as  the  sides  of 
the  frame,  i.e.,  a  straight  line  continuing  from  the  sides  of  the 
board  will  run  in  exactly  the  same  direction  as  the  shadow  cast. 
An  easier  way,  perhaps,  to  do  this  is  to  place  your  finger  close  to 
the  frame,  so  that  the  shadow  will  come  on  your  finger  at  exactly 
the  place  where  it  commences  to  extend  out  beyond  the  sides  of 
the  board.  Do  this  on  all  the  sides,  being  careful  that  in  getting 
the  shadow  right  on  one  side  that  you  do  not  lose  it  on  the 
opposite  one. 

When  you  have  obtained  the  correct  shadow,  you  can  with 
certainty  say  that  for  the  time  being  at  least,  the  negative-board 
is  correctly  placed  face  towards  the  rays  of  the  sun.  I  very  often 
watch  in  placing  a  board  out  in  the  sunlight,  and  move  it  until 
I  commence  to  see  the  light  flickering  along  all  of  the  sides,  then 
I  know  that  the  board  is  all  right  without  the  use  of  my  finger. 
You  will  soon  get  used  to  it,  and  after  the  first  few  times  it  will 


PRINTING  INTENSE  NEGATIVES. 


83 


not  be  necessary  to  place  your  finger  there,  and  it  will  only  take 
two  or  three  seconds  to  place  it  exactly  right  with  one  hand, 
while  with  your  other  you  can  be  taking  up  another  board  to 
place  out  to  print. 

The  advantage  of  the  above  plan  can  readily  be  seen  by  those 
who  print  those  styles  of  prints  known  as  “Mezzotints.” 

One  disadvantage  in  placing  the  intense  negatives  face  to  the 
sun,  without  either  ground-glass  or  tissue-paper  over  them,  is  the 
liability  of  there  being  some  bubbles,  scratches,  etc.,  in  the  glass, 
which  would  print  on  the  paper,  and  these  would  be  the  cause  of 
great  trouble  in  touching  them  out  in  the  mounted  print.  Many 
times  have  I  been  annoyed  in  the  same  manner  in  printing  such 
negatives,  and  then  would  be  obliged  to  place  a  ground-glass  over 
the  negatives,  if  the  defects  were  very  small,  and  a  couple  if  they 
were  quite  large,  to  avoid  their  being  printed.  Sometimes  even 
a  tissue-paper  must  be  used  to  fully  answer  the  purpose  ;  hence 
the  consequence  of  using  the  best  glass  in  making  the  negatives. 

Print  until  the  shadows  are  a  trifle  darker  than  you  wish  them 
to  be  when  done,  and  then  take  the  print  off  and  examine  it. 
“Print  for  the  shadows,  and  let  the  lights  take  care  of  them¬ 
selves,”  is  a  very  good  motto,  and  worthy  of  notice  in  printing 
intense  negatives. 

On  examining  the  print,  if  the  lights  of  the  face  are  very  white, 
so  as  not  to  contain  much  detail,  then  they  should  be  softened. 

There  are  various  ways  of  doing 
this,  and  one  of  the  best  in 
many  respects  is  that  of  making 
an  aperture  full  as  large  as  the 
place  to  be  shaded,  in  a  suitable 
size  piece  of  yellow  envelope- 
paper,  and  holding  the  print  in  the 
left  hand,  and  the  envelope-paper 
in  the  right,  hold  them  both  out 
in  diffused  light,  and  tone  down 
the  blanky  whites  of  the  print. 

Fig.  36.  A  is  the  print  to  be 
shaded,  and  B  is  the  paper  with  a 
piece  of  it  cut  out,  thus  enabling  us  to  shade  the  print  easily.  The 
place  to  be  shaded  is  at  the  forehead. 


Fig.  36. 


84 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


Care  should  be  exercised  in  performing  this,  as  the  least  thing 
out  of  the  way  will  spoil  the  prints.  The  paper  should  always 
be  in  motion  while  out  in  the  sunlight,  so  that  there  will  not  be 
any  sharp  line  on  the  print. 

The  place  to  be  softened  should  be  darkened  a  very  little ,  two 
or  three  seconds’  exposure  to  the  sunlight,  and  a  half  dozen  or 
so  more  in  the  diffused  rays,  being  all  that  is  generally  required. 

Never  attempt  to  shade  a  print  in  this  manner  unless  the  hole  in 
the  paper  is  full  as  large  as  the  place  to  be  shaded,  for  with  a 
smaller  hole  you  wilt  most  probably  spoil  it,  by  shading  it  irregu¬ 
larly. 

The  shaded  place  should  also  be  a  trifle  darker  than  what  it 
should  be  when  done.  Practice  will  soon  render  you  perfect  in 
this  little  printing  dodge,  as  well  as  in  other,  at  first  difficult, 
parts  of  printing. 

I  have  seen  many  prints  very  much  improved  by  this  method, 
and  then  again  I  have  seen  many  others  ruined. 

A  print  printed  in  the  manner  described  above  from  a  very  in¬ 
tense  negative,  will  have  the  following  advantages: 

1.  It  will  be  a  bold  and  vigorous-looking  print. 

2.  It  will  present  fine  contrasts  without  harshness,  and  will  con¬ 
tain  softness  throughout. 

3.  There  will  be  detail,  both  in  the  shadows  and  in  the  lights. 

As  a  whole  the  prints  will  be  very  much  improved  over  what 

would  have  been  obtained  from  the  negative,  providing  it  had 
been  printed  without  regard  to  its  improvement. 

There  are  other  ways,  however,  to  improve  such  a  negative, 
and  which  are  more  or  less  dependent  upop  each  other  to  pro¬ 
duce  the  proper  result. 

In  place  of  shading  the  print  after  it  is  taken  off  the  printing- 
frame,  it  can,  if  you  choose,  be  done  while  printing,  by  shading 
the  shadows  of  the  negative  with  a  cloth,  while  the  lights  are 
printing.  In  the  sunlight  the  cloth  should  always  be  in  motion ; 
in  the  shade,  however,  if  the  cloth  is  moved  a  trifle  every  minute 
or  two,  that  will  be  sufficient.  It  is  sometimes  better  to  do  the 
shading  in  this  manner  than  in  any  other,  when  a  bolder  print  is 
required  than  what  would  be  obtained  by  shading  if  after  it  is 
taken  from  the  frame.  Sometimes  when  the  shadows  are  very 
heavy,  and  get  printed  long  before  the  lights  get  done,  it  will 


PRINTING  INTENSE  NEGATIVES. 


85 


not  then  always  answer  our  purpose  to  take  the  print  off  and 
shade  it  in  the  manner  first  described  under  the  heading  of  this 
chapter  ;  because  it  will  often  give  a  flat  appearance,  shade  it  as 
little  as  we  choose,  and'  instead  of  improving  it,  the  contrary 
effect  will  be  the  result. 

This  shows  then  that  the  lights  need  to  be  printed  for  awhile 
after  the  shadows  are  done ,  before  we  think  of  shading  or  tinting 
them  by  exposure  to  the  light,  and  to  tell  when  we  have  obtained  a 
negative  that  needs  this  is  our  next  object. 

I  will  suppose  we  have  a  very  intense  negative,  in  which  an  at¬ 
tempt  at  shadow  effects  has  been  made,  and  violent  contrasts  have 
been  produced.  The  subject  is  a  lady  who  lives  too  far  away  for 
another  sitting,  and  the  photographs  are  to  be  sent  to  her  by 
mail,  and  as  this  is  the  only  negative  of  her,  it  must  be  printed 
after  it  is  retouched,  which  latter  process  makes  it  still  more  in¬ 
tense. 

The  printer  here  then  has  a  difficult  task  to  make  a  dozen  prints 
from  that  negative,  and  upon  making  a  proof  of  it,  finds  as  he 
expected  that  the  shadows  are  done  a  long  time  before  the  high¬ 
lights  or  lighter  side  of  the  face,  and  having  removed  the  proof 
from  the  printing-frame  when  the  shadow  side  of  the  face  is  done, 
he  can  then  expose  the  lighted  side  for  two  or  three  seconds  in 
the  strong  sunlight,  as  has  been  described  above.  After  he  has 
exposed  this  lighted  side,  he  takes  it  in,  and  immediately  notices 
that  the  side  is  no  longer  white,  but  is  decidedly  flat,  being  all 
over  alike  from  the  top  of  the  forehead  down  to  the  chin.  There 
is  then  some  detail  wanted  to  be  printed  in  on  that  side  of  the  face 
so  as  to  prevent  flatness,  before  we  shade  or  tint  the  side  by  expo¬ 
sure  to  the  sunlight. 

How  can  it  be  obtained  ? 

There  are  several  ways  to  do  this,  which  we  will  here  describe, 
showing  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  each. 

We  might  shade  the  shadow  side  of  the  face,  by  moving  a  cloth 
over  the  dark  side  of  it  while  printing  in  the  direct  rays  of  the 
sun,  or  by  moving  it  once  or  twice  every  minute  or  two,  if  printed 
in  diffused  light. 

Before  proceeding  further,  I  will  here  mention  that  we  are  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  using  the  pink  paper,  silvered  only  a  few  seconds  on 
a  weak  bath,  fumed  a  few  minutes,  and  then  thoroughly  dried. 

8 


86 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


In  reference  to  the  method  last  described,  the  results  are  often 
unsatisfactory,  while  the  disadvantages  are  many,  viz. : 

1.  It  is  a  tedious  operation,  when  the  lighted  side  has  to  be 
printed  considerably. 

2.  There  is  great  danger  of  shading  the  background,  drapery, 
etc.,  which  will  (especially  when  it  takes  so  long  a  time  to  ac¬ 
complish  it)  show  badly  on  account  of  the  different  depths  of 
printing  there  is  to  them. 

3.  Every  print  you  make  will  have  to  be  printed  with  all  of 
this  trouble,  and  by  the  waste  of  much  valuable  time. 

Our  next  object  then  is  to  obtain  a  better  way  to  do  this,  which 
will  have  the  advantage  of  being  more  easily  and  better  done. 
There  is  a  comparatively  simple  method,  and  we  will  try  it. 

Instead  of  shading  the  shadow  side  when  done,  we  will  simply 
apply  some  transparent  color  to  the  back  of  the  negative,  exactly 
behind  the  shadows,  so  that  while  the  lights  are  printing,  the  said 
shadows  will  print  slower. 

This  color  is  applied  as  described  on  another  page. 

By  regulating  the  thickness  of  the  color  on  the  back  of  the 
negative,  we  can  make  the  shadows  print  about  as  we  wish. 

Apply  until  you  get  it  at  the  proper  thickness  or  density,  which 
is  readily  determined  by  printing  a  proof  of  it,  with  a  single  tis¬ 
sue-paper  placed  over  the  printing-board.  The  tissue-paper  will 
to  be  sure  make  the  negative  print  slower,  but  it  will  print  better, 
for  this  color  will  more  than  counterbalance  that  which  we  may 
lose  by  the  use  of  the  tissue-paper. 

When  this  color  is  applied  as  it  should  be,  you  will  then  see 
that  by  the  time  the  shadows  are  done,  the  lights  will  have  enough 
detail  in  many  places  to  warrant  you  to  remove  the  print  from 
the  frame,  and  tint  the  lighted  side,  as  has  been  described. 

Upon  looking  now  at  the  print,  you  will  readily  perceive,  at  a 
glance,  that  the  side  of  the  face  of  the  lady’s  photograph  is  no 
longer  flat,  but  there  is  a  boldness  yet  softness  to  the  whole. 

The  detail  which  was  printed  in  on  the  lighted  side  of  the  face, 
was  a  little  over  the  temple,  and  considerable  more  on  the  upper, 
middle,  and  tower  parts  of  the  cheeks.  This  is  what  gives  form 
to  that  side  of  the  face,  and  is  just  what  was  needed. 

Properly  silvered  pink  paper,  and  a  little  judicious  shading 


PRINTING  INTENSE  NEGATIVES. 


87 


after  printing,  gave  us  a  nice  bold  yet  soft  print ,  full  of  detail, 
which  we  secured  even  in  the  deep  shades,  from  a  harsh  negative, 
by  proper  masking  or  painting  of  the  shadows. 

Another  way  to  print  this  negative  would  be  to  place  it  up 
against  the  window-glass,  varnished  side  next  to  it,  and  lay  a 
piece  of  tissue-paper  on  the  back  part  of  it,  and  with  a  lead- 
pencil  mark  on  the  paper  just  on  the  edges  of  the  deep  shadows 
which  you  wish  to  print  slower.  Now  cut  this  paper  out,  and 
place  it  on  the  back  of  the  negative  exactly  behind  where  the 
deep  shadows  are,  and  then  place  the  negative  out  to  print,  after 
having  placed  another  tissue-paper  over  the  whole. 

In  placing  this  paper  on  the  back  of  the  negative,  raise  the 
edges  of  it  a  trifle  so  that  it  will  not  lay  flat  on  the  glass  and  cause 
the  edges  of  it  to  print. 

Negatives  which  have  either  some  transparent  color  or  tissue- 
paper  placed  on  the  back  of  them  should  always  be  placed  face 
up  to  the  strongest  light,  so  that  the  places  which  are  intended 
to  be  shaded  will  be  so,  for  very  often  if  you  lay  the  board  down 
flat,  the  strongest  light  striking  the  negative  obliquely,  the  thick¬ 
ness  of  the  glass  will  cause  the  color  or  paper  to  shade  a  different 
place  than  that  which  you  intend  it  to  do.  (Study  Figures  35 
and  36.)  -This  is  especially  the  case  when  the  place  to  be  shaded 
is  a  small  one. 

The  hands  and  arms,  shadows  under  the  eyebrows,  shadows  in 
the  cheeks,  shadows  under  the  nose,  the  chin,  the  shaded  ear, 
neck,  etc.,  can  very  often  be  improved  by  either  of  the  last  two 
mentioned  ways,  viz.,  transparent  color  or  tissue-paper,  some¬ 
times  one,  and  often  the  other  answering  the  better  of  the  two. 
Do  not  carry  either  to  excess,  however,  for  the  shadows  need  only 
to  be  softened  more  or  less  according  to  circumstances,  and  not 
entirely  removed. 

The  transparent  color  is  really  a  good  thing,  as  the  following 
instance,  out  of  a  great  many  that  have  come  under  my  observa¬ 
tion,  will  testify. 

Miss  Hattie  W.’s  negative  is  a  “ shadow ”  one,  and  she  wants 
it  printed  in  a  vignette,  but  the  lighted  side  does  not,  when  the 
shadows  are  printed,  possess  sufficient  detail  unless  we  make  use 
of  this  color.  As  the  prints  from  this  negative  are  like  the  ones 
described  last,  we  will  have  to  blue-paint  three-quarters  of  the 


88 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


whole  face,  which  can  very  easily  be  done,  and  thus  allow  good 
prints  to  be  obtained  from  it,  which,  if  we  did  not  blue-paint  or 
fix  it  in  some  way,  we  would  have  a  very  black  shadow,  which 
would  greatly  mar  the  beauty  of  the  picture. 

An  excellent  way  to  print  the  negative,  when  it  is  to  be  printed 
either  plain  or  in  the  medallion  style,  is  to  take  a  magnifying- 
glass — the  so-called  “sun-glass” — which  has  a  diameter  of  about 
three  inches,  and  by  means  of  it  to  print  up  the  intense  parts  of 
the  negative,  being  careful,  however,  that  you  do  not  draw  the 
light  to  a  focus  on  the  negative,  for  then  you  will  both  spoil  the 
negative  and  print. 

We  very  frequently  use  the  glass  for  such  negatives,  and  also 
for  printing  detail  in  white  dresses,  etc. 

For  intense  negatives,  then,  we  can  sum  up  the  following  re¬ 
marks  for  their  improvement  in  printing: 

1.  Pink  paper  should  be  silvered  on  a  moderately  weak  bath, 
for  a  comparatively  short  time  to  what  it  is  when  prepared  for 
weak  negatives. 

2.  The  paper  should  be  fumed  only  a  very  few  minutes. 

3.  The  negative  should  be  printed  as  quickly  as  possible,  which 
can  be  done  by  placing  it  in  the  strongest  sunlight,  with  nothing 
over  i.t,  providing  the  quality  of  the  glass,  etc.,  permits. 

4.  Soften  the  too  deep  shadows  of  the  negative  with  some 
transparent  color,  and  thus  permit  the  lights  to  print  longer. 
Print  such  negatives  under  tissue-paper. 

5.  Print  until  there  is  some  detail  in  the  lights,  taking  care 
that  the  shadows  do  not  overprint. 

6.  After  removing  the  print  from  the  board,  soften  the  blanky 
whites  of  the  face,  light  dresses,  etc.,  by  exposure  to  the  light, 
protecting  the  rest  of  the  print  by  some  opaque  paper,  as  has 
minutely  been  described  above. 

7.  Sometimes  the  whole  print  can  be  held  out  a  few  seconds 
with  fine  results. 

8.  If  the  places  to  be  tinted  by  exposure  to  the  light  are  large, 
such  as  a  side  of  the  face,  there  will  have  to  be  some  detail  printed 
in  on  that  side  or  place,  as  the  case  may  be,  before  the  print  is 
removed  from  the  printing-frame,  so  as  to  prevent  flatness. 

9.  By  the  use  of  a  common  magnifying-  or  sun-glass,  the  lights 
of  the  face,  hands,  etc.,  can  be  printed  quickly  and  well. 


I 


PRINTING  WEAK  NEGATIVES.  89 

io.  Study  how  to  improve  the  prints  in  printing  the  order  from 
a  negative,  and  you  will  not  fail  to  do  something  towards  raising 
the  standard  of  your  work. 

The  further  operations  of  improving  the  prints  from  intense 
negatives,  such  as  the  toning,  fixing,  etc.,  will  be  described  under 
their  respective  heads. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PRINTING  WEAK  NEGATIVES. 

As  is  the  case  in  “  printing  intense  negatives,”  so  paper  should 
also  be  prepared  especially  for  “printing  weak  negatives.” 

White  paper  should  be  silvered  for  a  specified  time  on  a  strong 
silver  printing-bath  (say  from  forty  to  one  hundred  and  eighty 
seconds,  on  a  bath  from  forty-five  to  eighty  grains  strong  of 
nitrate  of  silver  to  the  ounce  of  water) ;  but  the  strength  of  the 
bath  and  time  of  floating  should  vary,  according  to  the  tempera¬ 
ture  of  the  weather,  class  of  negatives  to  be  printed,  etc. 

When  the  paper  is  ready  for  fuming,  it  should  be  fumed  not 
less  than  fifteen  minutes,  and  often  for  half  an  hour.  (See  page 
34,  “Fuming  the  Paper.”)  Sensitive  albumen  paper,  when  it 
has  been  sensitized  the  day  before,  is  excellent  for  printing  very 
weak  negatives,  giving  much  bolder  prints  than  it  would  if  it 
were  freshly  sensitized. 

The  paper  for  weak  negatives  like  that  for  intense  negatives, 
should  be  kept  by  itself,  and  for  this  purpose  have  a  box  or  drawer 
labelled  “Paper  for  Weak  Negatives.” 

There  are  only  a  few  negatives  out  of  a  day’s  printing  that  need 
any  preparatory  treatment  before  printing. 

In  by  far  the  majority  of  cases,  the  beauty  of  the  negatives 
consists  in  their  thinness,  unless  they  are  so  thin  as  to  give  very 
flat  prints. 

In  a  thin  or  weak  negative,  such  a  one  as  I  at  present  have  in 
my  mind’s  eye,  its  beauty  consists  in  detail  throughout  in  the 
strongest  high-lights ,  as  well  as  in  the  shadows ;  also  in  its  color, 
lighting,  etc.  In  exposing  there  has  been  plenty  of  time  given 

8* 


90 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


to  the  negative,  and  consequently  detail  is  found  in  all  of  the 
shadows  and  draperies,  with  the  exception  of  three  or  four  places 
in  the  deepest  shadows  where  there  is  no  detail,  and  which  ac¬ 
counts  for  the  brilliancy  of  the  negatives.  A  cool  gray  color  to 
the  deposit  adds  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  the  negative,  as  well  as 
to  its  printing  qualities. 

A  nicely  lighted  negative,  besides  being  beautiful — as  we  judge 
it  by  looking  through — also  prints  better,  because  then  there  is 
left,  by  the  artistic  taste  of  the  operator,  a  few  judicious  shadows, 
as  last  described,  such  as  places  in  the  hair,  which  by  contrast 
are  generally  close  to  that  part  which  has  been  powdered,  and  is 
photographically  full  of  detail;  and  when  we  admire  beautiful 
negatives,  one  of  the  first  parts  we  look  at  is  the  hair,  especially 
if  it  is  a  lady’s,  and  we  very  often  involuntarily  exclaim,  “How 
brilliant  and  full  of  detail  the  hair  is!” 

Now  pri nts  from  these  negatives,  which  are  so  brilliant,  bold, 
and  full  of  detail  to  the  eye,  very  often  astonish  us,  on  account 
of  their  being  exactly  opposite  to  what  we  had  been  led  to  expect, 
when  we  looked  through  them,  and  at  first  the  photographic 
printer  is  bothered  a  little  to  account  for  it. 

This  is  accounted  for  as  follows:  They  printed  too  fast,  and 
the  negatives  may  not  perhaps  have  the  photographic  color  which 
produces  the  best  print. 

To  print  slower,  and  to  give  the  photographic  color  they  re¬ 
quire,  coating  the  back  of  the  negative  with  yellow  varnish  has 
been  advised,  and  I  have  tried  it  with  considerable  success;  but 
the  prints  have  a  look  of  forced  boldness  and  coarseness,  which 
spoils  them  in  the  eyes  of  most  printers.  Undoubtedly  \A\z yellow 
color  of  the  varnish  is  not  what  we  wish.  Nothing  is  better  to 
give  a  good  printing  quality  to  the  negatives  than  white  tissue- 
paper. 

The  way  to  overcome  this  rapid  printing,  is  to  print  either  in 
deep  shade,  or  under  several  tissue-papers  (we  have  used  as  many 
as  eight  or  ten), — the  latter  when  you  wish  to  place  the  board  in 
the  sunlight ;  and,  besides  printing  slower,  they  will  also  print 
better. 

When  a  negative  is  very  thin,  we  generally  print  it  under  a 
porcelain -glass,  in  the  sunlight,  and  the  prints  are  thus  very  much 
improved.  Try  it. 


PRINTING  WEAK  NEGATIVES. 


91 


Printing  under  several  pieces  of  the  greenest  of  window-glass 
is  a  very  good  thing,  as  a  trial  of  it  will  show. 

Coating  the  back  of  too  weak  negatives  with  some  old  sensitive 
negative  collodion  will  also  improve  the  quality  of  the  prints. 

A  way  which  I  very  often  try,  if  the  negative  is  not  too  thin, 
is  to  coat  the  back  of  it  with  Hance’s  liquid  “Ground-glass  Sub¬ 
stitute,”  and  which  I  can  vouch  for  as  a  good  thing.  The  ground 
side  of  a  ground-glass  laid  close  to  the  negative  is  also  excellent. 

But  a  negative  which  has  flatness  throughout,  without  any  bold¬ 
ness  worth  mentioning,  cannot  be  doctored  by  any  such  simple 
treatment  as  the  above.  More  decided  measures  will  have  to  be 
resorted  to. 

One  of  the  best  processes  to  improve  this  negative,  is  by  means 
of  that  one  known  by  the  name  of  the  “Irish  Process,”  called 
after  the  name  of  the  gentleman  who  discovered  it.  I  have  seen 
samples  which  have  been  very  much  improved  by  the  use  of  this 
process;  and,  when  it  is  nicely  done,  the  results  are  excellent, 
having  considerable  boldness  in  them. 

It  is  a  secret  process,  and  so  I  am  unable  to  give  it  here. 
Those  who  wish  to  improve  the  weak,  flat  negatives,  which  occa¬ 
sionally  fall  into  their  hands,  will  find  the  other  methods  given 
sufficient. 

Another  way  to  improve  flat  negatives  is  by  the  use  of  the 
blue-paint  dodge,  which  has  been  so  repeatedly  described  in  this 
book.  I  have  very  often  laid  it  all  over  the  fate  of  the  negative, 
but  on  the  ««varnished  side  of  it,  and  after  removing  what  may 
be  over  the  eyes,  then  have  printed  it,  after  having  covered  the 
back  of  the  negative,  or,  better  still,  the  printing-frame  with 
tissue-paper. 

Then,  a  very  good  way  to  allow'  the  shadows  to  print  up  under 
tissue-paper,  while  the  face  is  protected,  so  as  to  make  them  print 
bold  (which  they  will  do  if  printed  under  a  piece  or  two  of  tis¬ 
sue-paper),  is  to  cover  the  whole  negative-board  with  tissue-paper 
and  then  lay  a  dark  cloth  on  that  part  which  you  wish  to  be 
shaded,  moving  it  every  few  minutes  while  there.  By  a  little 
ingenuity,  in  the  way  of  arranging  tissue-papers,  they  can  be 
made  to  answer  a  variety  of  purposes. 


92 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

A  FEW  MORE  REMARKS  ABOUT  PRINTING— TREATMENT  OF 
BROKEN  NEGATIVES. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  this  book,  The  Positive  Bath  for  Albu¬ 
men  Paper,  I  have  given  a  variety  of  formulte  for  both  preparing 
and  taking  care  of  the  printing-baths,  which  I  have  either  by  my 
own,  or  by  the  experience  of  some  photographic  friend,  proved 
to  be  very  fine  in  their  results,  if  carried  out  as  recommended. 

When  a  paper — say,  for  instance,  the  Hovey — is  floated  upon 
the  silver  bath,  a  treatment  is  required  which  at  first  seems  pecu¬ 
liar.  If  you  float  this  paper  upon  a  medium-strong  silver  bath 
(forty  to  forty-five  grains  strong,  in  summer)  it  will  have  to  be 
floated  a  long  time  to  obtain  good  results,  and  if  floated  upon  a 
weak  silver  bath  (twenty-five  to  thirty  grains  strong,  also  in  sum¬ 
mer)  it  will  have  to  be  floated  a  short  time. 

The  reason  of  this  is  obvious.  A  strong  silver  bath  repels  the 
paper  at  first,  for  quite  a  number  of  seconds,  and  if  removed  from 
the  bath  before  the  paper  has  taken  to  it,  it  will  dry  in  tear¬ 
drops,  and  when  printed  it  will  be  marbled  in  its  looks,  which  is 
in  itself  a  sure  sign  of  too  short  silvering.  If  the  paper,  when 
removed  from  the  bath,  curls  considerably,  then  that  is  another 
sign  of  too  short  silvering,  and  consequently  paper  silvered  on  a 
strong  silver  bath  should  be  silvered  for  a  longer  time  than  what 
you  would  silver  the  same  on  a  weak  bath,  and  then  the  paper 
will  have  a  strong 'solution  on  it,  and  will  be  very  brilliant,  both 
when  just  removed  from  the  printing-frame  and  when  dried  and 
finished;  but  it  will  be  very  much  bronzed  in  the  shadows.  For 
weak  or  flat  negatives,  that  paper  would  be  just  the  thing;  while 
for  medium,  i.  e. ,  neither  intense  nor  weak  negatives,  it  would 
not,  and  for  the  intense  negative  it  would  be  sadly  out  of  place. 

For  medium  negatives,  the  bath  for  sensitizing  the  paper  (Ho¬ 
vey)  should  be  from  twenty-eight  to  thirty-three  grains  strong,  of 
silver  alone,  to  the  ounce  of  water  during  the  summer  ;  and  while 
you  float  in  the  former  case,  on  a  bath  of  forty-five  grains,  from 
thirty-five  to  fifty  seconds,  you  should  not  in  this  case  float  more 


A  FEW  MORE  REMARKS  ABOUT  PRINTING. 


93 


than  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  seconds.  If  you  float  the  Ho- 
vey  paper  on  a  thirty  to  thirty-three-grain  bath  longer  than 
twenty-five  seconds,  the  paper  will  print  “  woolly,"  even  if  silvered 
only  five  seconds  more  than  the  allotted  time. 

The  paper  is  easily  told,  as  to  whether  it  will  print  woolly  or 
not,  by  examining  the  surface  of  the  freshly  silvered  sheet  as  soon 
as  it  is  removed  from  the  bath  :  if  it  looks  dead  and  sunk  in  you 
may  be  assured  that  it  will  look  exactly  so  when  it  is  printed. 

The  experienced  printer,  when  he  removes  the  first  sheet  of 
paper  from  the  bath,  can  tell  whether  he  is  silvering  the  right 
time  or  not  (at  least,  very  nearly),  and  then  he  can  act  accord¬ 
ingly,  with  astonishing  accuracy. 

There  are  often  very  bad  results  occasioned  by  having  the  silver 
solution  too  cold.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  the  winter.  Look 
out  for  it,  if  you  wish  to  avoid  trouble,  both  in  the  sensitizing 
and  working  of  the  paper. 

During  the  hot  months  of  summer,  the  paper  should  be  kept  in 
a  damp  box  for  a  day  or  so  before  it  is  silvered,  for  when  the 
albumen  on  the  paper  is  in  a  damp  state  it  will  more  readily  take 
to  the  bath  than  when  it  is  dry  and  horny.  During  the  winter 
the  paper  should  not  be  kept  in  a  hot  room  for  the  same  reason. 


TREATMENT  OF  BROKEN  NEGATIVES. 

In  many  cases,  a  negative  that  has  been  broken  can  be  mended, 
so  as  to  be  strong  enough  to  resist  all  ordinary  pressure  of  the 
backboard  whde  printing,  providing  another  glass  is  first  laid  in 
the  frame  and  the  negative  laid  on  it. 

Lay  a  piece  of  cotton  flannel  on  a  level  bench  or  table,  where 
there  is  plenty  of  light,  and  match  the  broken  pieces  of  the  nega¬ 
tive  on  it,  face  up.  Examine  the  pieces  closely  with  a  magnify¬ 
ing-glass,  and  lay  them  in  exactly  the  position  they  were  in  before 
the  negative  was  broken. 

Now  cut  strips  of  plain  unsalted  paper  about  an  inch  wide — 
no  more  though — and  apply  melted  glue  to  one  side  of  them ; 
now  place  the  same  side  of  the  paper  to  the  borders  of  the  nega¬ 
tive,  permitting  about  half  an  inch  of  the  width  to  project  out 
beyond  the  glass. 


04 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


Do  this  to  all  of  the  sides  and  then  turn  them  over  the  edge, 
i.  e. ,  the  thickness  of  the  glass,  on  the  varnished  side  of  the 
negative,  and  rub  the  paper  with  a  tuft  of  cotton  in  close  contact 
with  the  glass.  The  negative,  as  it  is  now,  has  a  half-inch  strip 
of  paper  glued  to  the  four  sides  of  the  varnished  side  of  it,  and 
also  a  half-inch  strip  projecting  out  beyond  the  edges  of  the  nega¬ 
tive,  which  has  glue  on  it,  but  is  not  as  yet  stuck  to  the  other  side 
(Fig.  37).  When  the  paper  is  dry,  turn  this  negative  over  and 
apply  moisture  to  the  glue  on  the  paper,  and  draw  it  tightly  yet 
tenderly  over  the  edges  of  the  glass,  and  press  it  down  smoothly 
on  the  back  of  the  negative.  Do  this  in  turn  to  all  of  the  sides, 
and  then,  when  the  paper  is  dry,  you  will  find  the  pieces  quite 
strongly  held  together,  and  you  can  move  it  about,  in  and  out  of 
the  frame,  without  any  danger  of  the  pieces  separating. 

But,  however,  if  these  strips  of  paper  do  not  hold  the  negative 
sufficiently  together,  as  in  some  cases  they  will  not,  then  lay  the 


Fig.  37.  Fig.  38. 


negative  face  up  on  a  piece  of  plain  unsalted  paper,  match  it,  and 
with  a  knife  or  shears  cut  the  paper  around  the  negative,  leaving 
sufficient  of  it  on  all  sides  to  allow  it  to  turn  over,  not  too  far, 
on  the  varnished  side,  which,  you  remember,  is  uppermost  (Fig. 
38). 

Mark  with  a  lead-pencil  on  the  paper,  on  all  sides  of  the 
negative,  close  to  the  edge  of  the  paper.  Now  remove  the 
negative  and  apply  glue  to  the  side  of  the  paper  which  has  been 
marked. 

Apply  evenly,  and  lay  the  pieces  of  the  negative  quickly  on  in 
their  proper  position,  before  the  glue  has  commenced  to  dry. 
Bear  in  mind  that  the  glass  or  back  part  of  the  negative  is  laid 
down  on  the  glued  paper,  and  see  also  that  the  negative  when 
placed  together  lies  on  the  paper  as  it  did  before  you  removed  it 


.4  FEW  MORE  REMARKS  ABOUT  PRINTING. 


95 


to  glue  the  paper,  which  position  is  easily  told  by  the  tnarked 
lines  on  the  paper. 

When  the  pieces  are  matched  exactly,  by  the  aid  of  a  magnify¬ 
ing-glass,  then  gently  draw  the  paper  up  which  projects  out  beyond 
the  sides  of  the  negative  and  stick  them  to  the  varnished  side  of 
the  glass.  This  paper  should  not  cover  so  much  of  the  varnished 
side  as  to  cover  any  part  of  the  negative  that  is  to  come  in  the 
print  when  trimmed. 

The  negative  should  then  be  turned  over,  which  can  very  well 
be  done,  if  you  were,  in  the  first  place,  to  place  under  both  paper 
and  negative  a  whole  glass  of  the  same  size,  or  a  little  larger  if 
desired,  as  the  mended  negative  would  measure.  By  taking  hold 
of  this  under  glass  and  placing  a  couple  of  fingers  on  the  broken 
negative,  to  prevent  it  from  slipping,  you  can  easily  turn  it  over, 
and  then  lay  it  on  a  level  stand  covered  with  soft  flannel. 

Now  rub  with  a  tuft  of  cotton  the  paper  which  is  stuck  on  the 
back  of  the  negative,  commencing  at  the  middle  and  rubbing 
outwards,  so  as  to  secure  both  perfect  contact  and  for  the  purpose 
of  removing  air-bubbles  between  the  two  surfaces. 

Let  dry,  and  you  will  have  a  negative  that  can  be  printed,  if 
you  wish,  without  another  glass  being  placed  first  in  the  frame, 
and  which  can  now  be  packed  away  as  if  unbroken. 

This  negative  having  a  thick  white  paper  on  the  back  of  it,  will 
necessarily  print  slowly,  but  if  printed  face  up  to  the  strongest 
sunlight  but  little  difference  in  the  time  of  printing  will  be  no¬ 
ticed. 

Medallions  or  plain  prints  can  best  be  made  from  such  a  nega¬ 
tive,  though  it  may  be  vignetted  by  placing  a  Waymouth  vignette 
paper  on  the  back  of  it. 

The  contraction  while  drying  of  the  expanded  paper  will  draw 
the  pieces  of  the  negative  more  firmly  together,  and  thus  secure 
greater  exactness. 


96 


THE  PRACTICAL.  PRINTER. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CUTTING  THE  PRINTS. 

There  is  no  part  of  photographic  printing  that  is  more  diffi¬ 
cult,  or  shows  more  the  taste,  skill,  and  worth  of  a  photographic 
printer  than  this  simple  (?)  process  [as  it  is  called  by  some)  of 
“cutting  the  prints.”  Many  have  been  the  prints  that  have  been 
ruined  in  the  trimming  that  were  otherwise  good.  What  would 
be  the  value  of  a  print  that  was  brilliant  and  most  beautifully 
toned  if  it  had  been  ruined  in  cutting? 

I  have  often  been  surprised  that  prints,  which  are  so  beautiful 
in  other  respects,  should  be  so  abominably  cut  out  as  some  have 
been  that  I  have  seen,  when,  at  a  glance  at  the  prints,  we  could 
see  that,  with  this  exception,  the  printer  thoroughly  understood 
his  business,  for  even  upon  the  closest  examination  of  it,  before 
it  was  even  burnished,  we  could  not  see  either  weakness  or  coarse¬ 
ness  of  the  paper  in  the  slightest  degree,  too  much  bronzing  in 
the  shadows,  lack  of  brilliancy,  printed  neither  too  dark  nor  too 
light,  toned  so  finely  that  we  cannot  criticize  it  a  particle,  and, 
in  fact,  the  whole  print  was  a  perfect  jem,  with  this  exception,  but 
doubtless  this  was  done  by  one  who  was  not  well  learned  ;  most 
probably  by  a  boy,  or  a  very  careless  assistant  printer. 

In  the  cutting  of  the  prints  there  are  a  variety  of  rules  to  be 
observed  which  tend  towards  the  prints  being  properly  cut,  and, 
although  it  is  in  some  cases  almost  utterly  impossible  to  give  rules 
that  will  reach  them,  not  knowing  the  style,  etc.,  of  the  prints, 
as  almost  every  operator  poses  differently,  yet  a  very  great  num¬ 
ber  of  cases  can  be  hit  by  the  rules  which  will  be  given  below. 

Have  places  for  all  implements  used  in  trimming  the  prints 
and  always  keep  them  in  their  places,  except,  of  course,  when  in 
use.  Prints  larger  than  8xio  inches  are  very  seldom  cut,  either 
before  finishing  or  after,  for  they  are  mounted  upon  plain  “No. 
i”  cardboard,  size  of  said  cardboard  varying  according  to  the 
intended  size  of  the  prints,  and  covered  with  either  oval,  square, 
or  arch-top  mats,  and  framed  with  the  mats  placed  next  to  them. 

Although  these  large  prints  are  not  cut  to  any  particular  size 


CUTTING  THE  PRINTS. 


97 


before  toning,  they  are  trimmed  and  their  edges  cut  cleanly,  so 
that  they  will  not  be  so  likely  to  tear,  in  the  water,  during  the 
future  operations  which  they  are  destined  to  go  through. 

In  many  galleries  the  4-4  prints  are  not  cut  to  any  particular 
size,  but  trimmed  as  the  larger  prints  are,  and  mats  are  also 
placed  over  them  when  they  are  about  to  be  framed. 

Considerable  saving  can  be  made,  as  regards  the  expense  of  a 
mat  every  time  a  print  is  framed,  if  the  prints  are  cut  to  the 
exact  size  and  style  before  toning,  as  is  the  case  in  regard  to  the 
common  carte.  For  instance  :  If  you  were  to  cut  your  4-4  prints 
either  oval  or  square  before  toning,  the  prints  could  then  be 
mounted  upon  your  4-4  cardboard,  which  was  prepared  for  it, 
and  you  can  save  considerable  money  in  the  course  of  a  year  or 
two  by  so  doing,  of  course  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  according 
to  the  amount  of  business  the  photographer  has. 

To  do  this,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  have  mounts  prepared 
especially  for  the  purpose,  for  if  the  prints  were  mounted  upon 
the  plain  cardboard,  and  no  mat  placed  over  them  when  framed, 
the  effect  would  not  be  at  all  pleasing. 

In  many  galleries  the  prints  are  cut  as  described  above,  and 
mounted  upon  cardboard  ornamented  with  gilt  stripes,  in  the 
oval  and  square  forms,  inside  of  which  forms  the  prints  are  care¬ 
fully  mounted. 

Below  the  mounted  photograph  the  photographer  has  his  name 
printed  in  small  gilt  letters.  A  print  cut  oval  and  mounted  upon 
one  of  the  oval  mounts  has  the  appearance  of  having  an  oval  mat 
over  it,  with  the  advantage  of  having  your  name  printed  on  it. 
A  great  objection  to  this  is  that  of  having  to  choose  the  frame  at 
the  time  of  making  your  choice  of  picture,  so  that  the  check  can 
be  made  out  properly,  thus  enabling  the  operator  to  mark  on  the 
negative  either  square  or  oval,  which  means  to  cut  the  4-4  print 
square  or  oval,  according  to  what  is  marked  on  said  negative. 

When  the  prints  are  to  be  cut  in  an  oval  form,  or  round  cor¬ 
nered,  the  excellent  Robinson  Photograph  Trimmer  is  indispensa¬ 
ble.  (See  Fig.  39.)  It  does  its  work  so  quickly  and  so  well,  that 
no  one  can  estimate  it  too  highly.  It  will  outwear  a  gross  of 
knives,  and  does  its  work  better,  without  tearing  the  prints. 
Guides  that  can  be  used  with  it  are  furnished  at  a  trifling  cost. 

When  you  are  about  to  cut  square  8x10  prints  the  plate-glass 


98 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


is  first  laid  down  on  a  level  bench  and  the  print  on  it,  and  upon 
the  print  is  laid  the  glass  that  is  used  in  cutting  the  print.  Ad¬ 
just  this  latter  glass,  and  with  the  shoeknife  cut  a  quick  and  clean 
cut  on  all  sides  of  and  close  to  it.  If  you  choose  you  can  cut 
the  other  sized  prints,  such  as  the  Cabinet  and  Victoria,  by  the 

Fig.  39.  Fig.  40. 


aid  of  the  shoeknife  and  the  proper  glasses.  I  have  recommended 
a  shoeknife  because  it  is  cheap,  costing  only  about  twenty  cents ; 
then  again  it  is  better  handled  than  a  penknife. 

When  cutting  with  the  glass  and  knife  place  two  or  three  fingers 
of  the  left  hand  firmly  yet  lightly  upon  the  glass,  and  cut  with  the 
knife  in  the  right  hand,  cutting  around  the  glass,  shifting  the  elbows 
a  little  to  one  side  or  the  other  as  occasion  requires.  (See  Fig.  41.) 

The  Robinson  Trimmer  will  also  answer  for  cutting  square 
prints  with  a  very  slight  round  corner.* 


*  Since  the  first  issue  of  this  book  Prof.  Robinson  has  introduced  his  ex¬ 
cellent  “  Straight  Cut  ”  Trimmer,  made  plain  by  the  cut.  (Fig.  40.)  The 
knife  and  shears  may  now  be  discarded  altogether. 


CUTTING  THE  PRINTS. 


99 


There  are  a  great  many  printers  who  use  the  knife  altogether 
in  the  cutting  of  the  prints,  and  then  again  there  are  many  who 
use  the  shears. 

It  may  appear  to  be  a  small  matter  for  me  to  write  here  how 
you  should  use  your  glass  and  shears  in  cutting,  yet  there  is  one 


Fig.  41. 


Fig.  42. 


thing  which  if  observed  will  save  your  cutting  glasses,  and  also 
save  your  shears  from  getting  dull  so  quickly;  it  is  this: 

Many  persons  in  using  the  shears  cut  down  at  the  lower  part 
of  the  glass  at  an  angle,  so  that  the  blades  of  the  shears  run  along 
the  edges  of  the  bottom  part  of  the  glass-guide,  and  consequently 
the  glass  is  very  soon  nicky,  and  in  a  short  time  some  of  the  cor¬ 
ners  are  broken  off,  and  the  glass  is  worthless. 

Now  this  is  owing  to  the  style  of  cutting  (or  choppi?ig)  with  the 
shears,  because  every  time  you  cut  a  print  you  also  cut  the  glass, 
or  try  to. 

You  should  allow  the  blades  of  the  shears  to  fall  parallel  to  that 
side  of  the  glass  at  which  you  may  be  cutting  (see  Fig.  42),  and 
you  will  save  your  glasses,  and  also  prevent  the  shears  from  get¬ 
ting  dull  so  quickly. 

The  rules  which  will  perhaps  help  the  beginner  in  cutting  the 
prints  are  the  following  : 

1.  Never  have  the  nose  or  chin  higher  than  the  middle  of  the 
print,  if  the  head  is  of  an  ordinary  size,  and  the  print  is  printed 
plain. 

2.  Allow  a  trifle  more  space  on  that  side  of  the  print  toward 
which  the  head  is  turned,  being  careful  not  to  allow  too  much, 
however,  as  very  often  the  shoulders  suffer  by  the  abuse  of  this 
rule. 


100 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


3.  If  the  print  is  to  be  a  carte  de  visite,  and  the  head  is  very 
large,  it  ought  to  be  cut  higher  up  in  the  print  than  otherwise, 
so  as  to  obtain  plenty  of  the  body  to  balance  the  head. 

4.  In  cutting  out  a  print,  when  the  figure  is  leaning  on  a  table, 
chair,  etc.,  always  cut  in  enough  of  the  accessory  to  give  an  air 
or  look  of  solidity  to  the  base  of  the  print. 

5.  Always  lay  your  glass,  when  you  are  about  to  trim  the  prints, 
in  the  same  direction  as  the  body  is,  providing  it  is  not  leaning 
on  a  table,  for  then,  of  course,  you  must  represent  the  idea  of 
leaning,  but  when  there  is  no  such  idea  to  be  conveyed,  then 
trim  as  before  said,  so  that  the  body  will  not  appear  to  be  leaning 
too  far  forward  or  backward,  and  thus  give  the  beholder  the  idea 
of  falling. 

6.  Sometimes  by  cutting  the  print  so  that  the  person  will  ap¬ 
pear  to  be  leaning  slightly  backward,  the  effect  is  very  good, 
providing  the  figure  is  that  of  a  large  Berlin  head.  Look  out 
that  you  do  not  overdo  this,  however. 

7.  If  the  print  is  printed  in  a  medallion  or  arch-top,  you  should 
cut  it  so  that  there  will  be  as  much  of  the  tinted  border  show  on 
one  side  as  there  is  on  the  other,  and  as  much  at  the  top  as  there 
is  at  the  bottom,  and  always  cut  prints  that  are  printed  in  either 
of  these  styles  in  the  direction  that  the  oval  or  arch-top  may  be, 
and  never  cut  them  so  that  the  cut  and  the  oval  or  arch-top  will 
lie  in  different  directions.  To  do  this  you  must  be  sure,  in  placing 
on  the  oval  or  arch-top  for  printing,  that  you  get  them  to  lie  in 
the  right  direction. 

8.  If  the  figure  is  a  standing  one,  and  the  whole  of  it  can  be 
cut  in  the  print,  then  do  so,  and  not  cut  in  only  part  of  it,  as  is 
very  often  done. 

'9.  If  it  is  a  sitting  two-thirds  figure,  then  do  not  think  of  such 
a  thing  as  having  the  nose  or  chin  come  in  the  centre  of  the  print, 
as  per  Rule  1,  but  have  it  come  considerably  higher  up  in  the 
print,  being  careful,  however,  that  you  do  not  get  it  too  high. 

10.  Sometimes  there  are  groups  of  two,  three,  four,  or  even 
five  persons  in  a  carte  de  visite  photograph,  and,  in  cutting  out 
these  kind  of  prints,  be  sure  that  sufficient  of  the  drapery  on 
either  side  is  cut  in,  as  the  neglect  of  that  will  make  these  out¬ 
side  persons  appear  very  slender,  being  no  balance  to  the  figures; 
and,  for  such  cases  as  these,  either  in  the  small  card  or  the  Im- 


CUTTING  THE  PRINTS. 


101 


perial,  we  have  made  the  larger  glasses  to  cut  with  as  described 
above. 

n.  If  the  figure  is  a  standing  one  of  a  lady  (a  bride),  with  a 
long-trail  dress,  and  leaning  on  a  chair,  then  in  cutting,  not  only 
cut  the  print  so  that  you  will  give  the  idea  of  leaning  on  the  chair, 
but  cut  a  very  great  portion  of  the  dress  in,  even  if  the  figure  of 
the  lady  herself  is  over  to  one  side  of  the  print,  for  the  face  is 
turned  (or  should  be)  towards  that  direction,  and  you  can  trim 
as  above,  without  danger  of  hurting  the  looks  of  the  print,  for, 
on  the  contrary,  you  will  greatly  improve  it. 

12.  When  the  background  of  the  print  is  one  that  shows  inte¬ 
riors  or  exteriors,  such  as  the  panels  of  doors,  or  a  set  of  per¬ 
pendicular  rows  of  columns,  etc.,  always  cut  the  prints  so  that 
these  uprights  will  be  parallel  to  the  sides  of  the  trimmed  print, 
and  the  cross-panels  parallel  to  the  base  of  it.  This  kind  of  a 
background  is  more  often  found  in  the  large  prints,  more  especi¬ 
ally  so  when  the  “Bendann  Backgrounds”  are  used. 

13.  In  standing  figures,  very  often  the  place  where  the  floor 
meets  the  background  comes  in  sight  when  the  print  is  trimmed, 
and  in  such  cases  you  should  always  cut  the  flooring  parallel  to 
this  line ;  and,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  if  the  position  is 
properly  made,  the  figure  will  lean  in  the  proper  direction  by 
the  observation  of  this  simple  rule. 

14.  Do  not,  when  cutting  prints,  try  to  see  how  quick  you  can 
cut  them,  but  how  well,  for  a  dozen  well-trimmed  prints  are  worth 
more  than  a  hundred  indifferent  ones.  First  try  and  see  how 
well,  and  then,  after  you  have  learned  that,  then  see  how  quickly 
you  can  cut  them. 

The  advice  and  instruction  which  we  have  endeavored  to  give 
in  this  chapter,  is  intended  for  those  persons  whose  experience  at 
printing  has  not  been  so  extended  as  ours,  and  it  is  emphatically 
for  such  persons  that  we  have  written  the  above ,  and  not  for 
learned  printers. 


9* 


102 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

WASHING  THE  PRINTS. 

Next  in  order  comes  the  washing  of  the  prints,  although  in 
many  galleries  the  acidifying  of  them  is  done  first. 

It  is  a  question  whether  it  is  best  to  place  the  prints  first  in  the 
acid  water  or  not,  and  there  are  many  photographers  that  believe 
in  washing  them  first ;  and  then,  again,  there  are  many  that  be¬ 
lieve  to  the  contrary.  It  is  not  in  my  mind  a  matter  of  so  much 
•importance,  but  for  several  reasons  I  am  most  in  favor  of  washing 
them  first ;  and  so  I  will  commence  with  the  washing,  and  then, 
in  the  next  chapter,  the  acidifying  of  them  will  be  treated  of. 

It  was  supposed  by  many  photographers,  a  few  years  ago,  that 
the  washing  of  the  prints  was  a  matter  of  considerable  time,  and 
consequently  they  would  let  their  prints  wash  half  an  hour  in 
running  water,  moving  them  occasionally  with  the  hands. 

Within  the  last  year  or  two,  however,  the  photographic  printers 
have  found  out  that  such  long  washing  is  not  only  unnecessary, 
but  injurious  to  the  prints ;  and  at  the  present  day,  in  many  of 
our  first-class  galleries,  this  preliminary  washing  is  done  in  a  few 
minutes. 

The  way  we  should  advise  to  wash  prints  is  as  follows  : 

Take  a  half-sheet  dish,  although  any  other,  if  large  enough, 
would  do  as  well,  and  pour  into  it  lukewarm  water,  until  the 
dish  is  about  one-quarter  full.  Now  place  the  prints  in,  by  let¬ 
ting  a  few  drop  out  of  your  left  hand  at  a  time  into  the  dish, 
while,  with  your  right,  you  gently  and  quickly  push  them  under 
the  water,  until  you  have  placed  the  whole  batch  of  prints  in  the 
bath.  Again,  do  this  as  quickly  as  possible. 

I  have  recommended  to  let  a  few  (three  or  four),  drop  from  the 
hand  at  a  time  in  the  water,  because  beginners  are  apt  to  get  some 
of  the  prints  wet  (and  let  them  stay  in  the  hand  for  some  time  in 
that  condition  before  they  are  placed  in  the  water),  if  they  were 
to  take  them  from  the  left  hand  with  the  right  one,  and  then 
place  them  in  the  water,  as  they  might  want.  By  being  very  care¬ 
ful,  however,  they  can  do  it. 


washing  the  prints. 


103 


The  objection  to  getting  the  prints  partly  wet,  and  then  re¬ 
maining  in  that  state,  even  for  a  few  seconds  (say  eight  or  ten 
seconds),  before  they  are  wholly  submerged  in  the  water,  is,  that 
where  the  water  has  touched  them,  they  will  turn  red ;  and  if 
they  are  thus  partly  wet  by  the  water,  then,  after  you  have  placed 
them  in  the  dish,  they  will  show  spots  redder  than  the  other  parts 
of  the  prints,  which  will  sometimes  be  very  troublesome  in  the 
succeeding  operations. 

After  the  whole  batch  of  prints  that  are  to  be  toned  are  placed 
in  this  bath  of  tepid  water,  move  them  about  briskly  for  about 
five  minutes,  and  then  gently  pour  the  water  off  into  a  barrel, 
leaving  the  prints  to  lay  flat  on  the  bottom  of  the  dish.  Then 
rinse  them  with  a  little  more  water,  and  pour  this  also  into  the 
barrel. 

These  first  two  waters  we  save,  and  throw  down  the  silver  in 
them  by  sprinkling  a  little  common  salt  in  the  contents  of  the 
barrel,  upon  the  addition  of  which  the  silver  in  the  solution  will 
be  deposited  on  the  bottom  in  the  form  of  chloride  of  silver. 
When  this  chloride  of  silver  is  thoroughly  deposited,  then  draw 
off  the  clear  water  by  either  a  siphon  or  a  faucet,  as  may  suit  the 
taste  of  the  printer. 

Before  taking  for  granted  that  the  silver  in  the  solution  is  all 
precipitated,  becausg  you  have  previously  sprinkled  salt  in  the 
barrel,  the  solution  should  again  be  tested,  by  a  pinch  or  two  of 
salt,  and  if  there  is  no  more  precipitate,  then  the  silver  is  all  pre¬ 
cipitated,  and  the  liquid  can  be  drawn  off  without  any  further 
delay. 

When  you  have  rinsed  the  prints,  wash  in  one  or  two  other 
changes  of  water,  which  you  need  not  save,  and  then  they  are 
ready  to  be  placed  in  the  acidulated  water,  which  will  be  treated 
of  in  the  next  chapter. 

When  the  prints  are  in  the  first  change  of  water,  the  washing 
is  done  quickly,  by  permitting  them  to  come  to  the  surface,  and 
then  gently  pushing  them  down  again  to  the  bottom.  The  prints 
are  washed  more  thoroughly  and  quickly  in  this  way  than  in  any 
other.  The  time  required  to  do  the  above  washing,  after  the 
whole  batch  of  prints  are  placed  in  the  bath,  is  only  from  five  to 
ten  minutes. 


104 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

ACIDIFYING  THE  PRINTS. 

Now,  since  the  prints  are  sufficiently  washed,  they  are  ready 
to  be  placed  into  the  acid  water;  but,  before  we  do  so,  we  will 
pause  and  consider  for  a  few  minutes  the  object  of  doing  this. 

It  has  been  supposed  by  many  printers,  and  in  fact  that  is  the 
general  opinion  at  the  present  day,  that  the  prints  are  placed  in 
this  bath  of  slightly  acid  water  for  the  simple  purpose  of  making 
them  red ,  so  that  they  will  be  able  to  watch  the  toning,  and  also 
to  tone  them  better,  Now  this  is  partly  so,  but  it  is  by  no  means 
the  principal  object  of  placing  them  in  the  bath,  as  we  will  pres¬ 
ently  endeavor  to  show. 

If  our  only  object  in  placing  the  prints  in  this  bath  was  to 
make  them  simply  red,  why  should  we  not,  as  was  formerly  done, 
place  them  in  a  bath  of  salt  water,  and  thus  redden  them,  as  it 
will  do  the  work  as  quickly,  if  not  quicker,  than  the  acetic  acid 
does,  besides  being  very  much  cheaper? 

The  answer  from  some  of  these  printers  may  be  that  they  can¬ 
not  obtain  such  nice  tones  as  they  could  if  tjie  prints  were  “  red 
up”  with  acetic  acid;  and,  if  that  is  so,  is  it  not  evident  that 
there  is  something  in  the  action  of  the  acetic  acid  on  the  prints 
that  renders  them  better  for  the  toning  operation  than  the  action 
of  the  salt  on  them  does  ? 

The  action  of  the  salt  water  on  the  prints  converts  the  remain¬ 
ing  silver  left  in  the  prints  after  washing  into  the  pure  chloride  of 
silver ;  whereas,  before,  part  of  the  silver  on  the  surface  of  the 
prints  was  the  chloride,  albuminate,  and  the  nitrate. 

Now  if  you  were  to  place  the  prints  in  a  very  diluted  bath  of 
acetic  acid  instead  of  salt,  then  the  remaining  silver  in  them  will 
be  perfectly  converted  into  the  acetate  of  silver ,  if  they  are  per¬ 
mitted  to  remain  in  the  bath  long  enough  for  the  acid  to  over¬ 
come  the  other  natures  of  the  silver,  and  that  is  why  I  have  below 
recommended  the  prints  to  remain  in  the  acid  water  ten  minutes, 
for  the  acid  to  do  its  work  well,  and  that  is  also  the  reason  why 
(if  the  prints  stick  together  for  any  length  of  time),  even  if  they 


ACIDIFYING  THE  PRINTS. 


10a 


have  once  been  wet  all  over  with  the  acid  water,  the  prints  at  those 
parts  where  they  had  laid  close  together  will  not  be  properly 
converted  into  the  acetate  of  silver,  and  will  not  tone  well,  al¬ 
though  they  may  not  have  changed  color  any,  i.  e. ,  those  parts 
of  the  prints  which  may  be  stuck  together  will  be  full  as  red  as 
the  rest  of  the  prints,  and  thus  to  a  careless  eye  may  be  all  right, 
but  in  the  toning  of  them,  the  printer  will  perhaps  wonder  what 
makes  some  of  them  tone  so  much  better  than  others,  although 
in  the  distribution  of  color  on  the  surface  they  seem  to  be  all 
alike. 

The  acetate  of  silver  is  worked  upon  better  by  the  toning  solu¬ 
tion  than  either  the  chloride  of  silver  or  the  mixture  that  com¬ 
posed  the  silver  on  the  prints  before  they  were  placed  in  the  acid 
or  salt  water  (being  chloride,  albuminate,  and  nitrate). 

The  proof  of  the  above  can  be  observed  by  the  toner  as  he 
*  tones  the  prints  that  have  been  “red  up”  in  either  the  salt  or 
acid  water ;  and  then  again  as  he  tones  those  which  have  not 
been  “red  up”  at  all,  but  simply  washed. 

I  do  not  mean  to  give  the  young  beginner  the  impression, 
however,  that  prints  that  have  been  placed  in  the  salt  water,  in 
lieu  of  the  acid  water,  will  tone  badly  in  the  toning-baths,  for, 
on  the  contrary,  they  will  tone  very  fairly,  as  the  good  old-fash¬ 
ioned  tone  (good  if  it  is  old)  will  show,  but  I  do  mean  to  say  that 
better  tones  can  be  obtained  with  the  use  of  the  acid  water,  pro¬ 
vided  the  conditions  are  alike.  An  excellent  toner  may  take 
prints  that  have  been  placed  in  salt  water  and  obtain  better  re¬ 
sults  than  an  indifferent  toner  would  with  prints  that  have  been 
placed  in  acid  water. 

The  quantity  of  the  acetic  acid  required  is  just  sufficient  to 
properly  convert  the  remaining  silver  in  the  prints  into  acetate 
of  silver,  as  has  been  said  before,  and  no  more.  I  use  generally 
about  an  ounce  of  the  acid  to  the  gallon  of  lukewar?n  water.  I 
use  lukewarm  water  because  it  will  more  quickly  do  the  work 
required  than  cold  water. 

When  you  commence  to  make  your  acid  bath,  place  the  luke¬ 
warm  water  first  in  the  dish  you  are  going  to  use,  and,  after 
measuring  out  the  quantity  of  the  acid  in  a  small  vial,  pour  it 
into  the  water  at  different  places,  and  then,  with  your  hand,  stir 
the  water  well  for  about  one  minute,  so  as  to  get  the  acid  thor- 


106 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


oughly  mixed  with  the  water.  Now  place  the  prints  into  this 
bath  as  quickly  as  possible,  in  the  manner  described  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  chapter,  i.  e. ,  by  permitting  two  or  three  to  fall  at  a  time 
from  the  left  hand,  while  with  the  right  they  are  separated  as 
quickly  as  possible. 

When  you  have  placed  every  print  in  the  acid  water,  then  keep 
them  in  constant  motion  for  ten  minutes,  for  the  reason  above 
mentioned  (viz.,  that  the  silver  in  the  paper  will  be  equally  con¬ 
verted  into  the  acetate  of  silver),  and  then  pour  off  the  acid  water 
and  save  it  (for  this  acid  water  has  released  still  more  silver  from 
the  prints),  and  then  wash  the  prints  in  three  or  four  more  changes 
of  water,  so  as  to  remove  the  bad  smell  of  acetic  acid  from  them. 

It  is  very  necessary  that  the  prints  be  washed  well  after  acidi¬ 
fying,  because,  if  the  superfluous  acid  water  is  not  well  washed 
from  them,  false,  deceiving  tones  will  be  obtained  in  the  toning- 
bath,  which  will  in  a  great  measure  be  destroyed  in  the  further 
operations  with  the  prints.  The  tone  will  be  a  superficial  and 
uneven  one.  The  prints  are  finally  sufficiently  washed  for  the 
toning  operations  when,  upon  smelling  them,  there  is  only  a  very 
slight  vapor  of  the  acetic  acid  given  forth. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

TONING  BATHS. 

Ok  all  parts  of  photographic  printing  this  is  undoubtedly  the 
most  important  and  difficult,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  the 
management  of  the  printing-bath. 

There  are  a  great  variety  of  toning-baths  in  use,  a  great  pro¬ 
portion  of  which  are  excellent  for  certain  cases.  We  shall  here 
give  our  own  thoughts  or  ideas,  in  the  making  and  care  of  the 
different  toning-baths,  with  such  quotations  as  may  be  found  nec¬ 
essary,  from  others  probably  far  more  skilled  in  this  branch  than 
the  author  may  be. 

Before  proceeding  further,  I  will  explain  to  the  beginner  the 
reason  why  there  is  such  a  bath,  called  the  “  toning-bath,”  used. 


TONING  BATHS. 


107 


The  prints,  as  they  were  left  in  the  last  chapter,  need  some 
agent  to  remove  the  silver  left  in  them,  else  they  would  continue 
to  darken  upon  exposure  to  the  light,  and  in  a  short  time  be  so 
dark  as  to  be  indistinguishable.  This  agent  is  known  by  the 
name  of  hyposulphite  of  sodium.  If  we  were  to  place  the  prints 
as  they  are  now  directly  into  the  soda  solution,  they  would  turn 
a  dirty  yellow  color,  to  get  rid  of  which  and  give  a  more  pleasing 
one  a  bath  called,  as  before  said,  “the  toning-bath,”  is  made. 

Hence,  then,  the  object  of  the  toning-bath  is  to  give  partly 
permanence,  but  principally  to  give  the  color  or  tone  to  the  prints, 
and  in  this  color  we  may  expect  to  find  brilliancy  and  beauty, 
according  as  to  how  the  prints  were  treated  while  in  the  bath,  as 
will  be  shown  in  the  next  chapter. 

In  the  first  place,  good  chloride  of  gold  is  necessary  in  the 
making  of  these  toning-baths,  and  to  those  persons  who  do  not 
wish  to  make  their  chloride  of  gold  for  themselves,  among  whom 
the  young  beginner  should  certainly  be  classed,  I  would  advise 
them  to  purchase  a  stock  from  some  reliable  stockdealer.  Each 
bottle  contains  fifteen  grains,  which  may  be  dissolved  in  a  bottle 
containing  fifteen  ounces  of  pure  filtered  rain-  or  distilled-water. 

Label  this  bottle,  “Stock  Gold  Solution,  one  grain  to  the 
ounce  of  Water.”  This  solution  will  be  slightly  acid,  which  it 
should  be  to  prevent  the  light  from  precipitating  the  gold.  Keep 
this  bottle  in  the  dark,  or  at  least  out  of  the  brightest  diffused 
light. 


ACETATE  OF  SODA  BATH. 

Take  a  gallon  bottle  which  is  thoroughly  clean,  put  in  it  sixty 
grains  of  acetate  of  soda,  sixty  grains  of  common  salt,  and  four 
grains  of  chloride  of  gold  in  solution,  it  having  previously  been 
made  alkaline  with  sal  soda.  To  this  add  one-fourth  of  an  ounce 
of  a  saturated  solution  of  bicarbonate  of  soda,  and  last  of  all 
add  one  gallon  of  distilled  water.  This  bath  should  be  made  up 
in  the  order  given.  After  it  has  stood  forty-eight  hours,  make  a 
trial  of  it  by  toning  a  few  prints. 

In  adding  gold  to  it  previous  to  toning,  make  the  gold  alka¬ 
line  with  bicarbonate  of  soda.  This  bath  will  improve  day 


108 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


after  day  until  it  is  a  month  or  two  old,  when  it  will  be  necessary 
to  make  up  a  new  one. 

SAL  SODA  TONING-BATH. 

Distilled  or  Melted  Ice-water,  .  .  .  .64  ounces. 

Acid  Sol.  Chloride  of  Gold  (4  grs.  to  the  ounce), .  1  ounce. 

Sat.  Sol.  Sal  Soda,  ......  ounce. 

The  bath  feels  quite  slippery  to  the  fingers.  Make  it  a  full  half 
hour  before  you  wish  to  use  it,  and  during  the  cold  weather  make 
it  with  the  water  slightly  warm.  Make  it  every  night  and  save 
the  old  solution,  and  throw  down  the  gold  with  protosulphite  of 
iron. 

This  bath  bleaches  a  little  more  than  baths  generally  do,  and 
so  the  prints  should  be  printed  quite  dark.  The  prints  when  first 
placed  in  this  bath  will  turn  quite  red  after  a  minute  or  two,  and 
after  they  have  discontinued  turning  red  watch  them  closely,  for 
they  will  now  very  soon  commence  to  tone  so  that  you  will  readily 
notice  it,  and  when  they  have  once  commenced  to  border  on  the 
tone  you  desire  they  will  very  quickly  arrive  at  the  proper  stage. 

In  toning  disregard  the  shadows,  but  watch  the  high-lights  and 
half-tones  of  the  face,  and  when  they  just  commence  to  look  purplish, 
and  the  red  look  has  disappeared,  they  are  toned,  and  should  be 
immediately  removed  to  a  dish  of  running  water.  The  hair,  dra¬ 
peries,  etc. ,  may  not  look  to  be  totted,  but  they  are. 

When  you  are  fixing  these  prints  they  will  turn  a  variety  of 
colors  before  they  turn  the  right  one,  and  when  they  turn  that 
color  to  which  you  toned  them,  you  may  be  sure  they  are  fixed. 
See  the  chapter  on  Fixing  the  Prints. 

CHLORIDE  OF  LIME  BATH. 

With  this  bath  pure  whites  and  fine  blacks  can  be  obtained ; 
such  effects  as  are  suitable  for  architectural  drawings,  pencil 
sketches,  etc.  It  should  be  made  forty-eight  hours  before  use, 
and  when  about  to  use  it  add  a  little  of  the  gold  solution,  also  a 
little  of  the  chloride  of  lime. 

There  is  considerable  fault  found  with  this,  both  on  account  of 
the  uncertainty  of  its  composition  and  also  with  the  various  re¬ 
sults  obtained  with  it. 


TONING  BATHS. 


100 


That  is  owing  to  the  photographers  using  what  is  called  the 
saturated  solution  of  the  chloride  of  lime,  when  in  many  cases 
the  solution  is  far  short  of  being  saturated.  When  you  com¬ 
mence  to  make  a  saturated  solution  of  this  chloride  of  lime,  and 
have  placed  nearly  two  ounces  of  the  chloride  in  about  twenty- 
five  ounces  of  water,  there  will  be  a  precipitate  in  the  bottle  which 
will  make  you  think  that  the  solution  is  saturated,  since  it  will 
not  dissolve  upon  repeated  shaking  of  the  contents,  but  this  is 
simply  a  part  of  its  compound  (the  hydrate  of  lime),  and  you 
can  still  add  more  of  the  chloride  of  lime  to  the  solution  before 
it  is  saturated,  as  this  chloride  is  separated  and  dissolved,  whereas 
another  part  of  its  composition  is  not,  for  the  beginner  must  bear 
in  mind  that  the  so-called  chloride  of  lime  is  a  compound. 

The  apprentice  thus  sees  why  he  is  often  in  difficulty  in  using 
this  bath,  and  to  obviate  it  we  recommend  that  instead  of  using 
a  saturated  solution,  to  accustom  himself  to  weigh  the  chloride 
of  lime,  and  then  he  can,  after  he  has  once  started  rightly,  keep 
it  always  the  same.  This  bath  can  be  used  a  number  of  times, 
by  decanting  the  clear  liquid  out  of  the  bottle  and  adding  a  little 
gold,  enough  to  tone  the  prints,  and  a  trifle  of  lime.  It  is  made 
as  follows : 

Water,.  .......  40  ounces. 

Chloride  of  Lime,  .....  5  grains. 

Chloride  of  Gold,  .  .  .  .  .  4  “ 

The  chloride  of  gold  may  be  made  in  strength  at  about  one 
grain  to  the  ounce  of  water,  and  may  be  neutralized  with  carbon¬ 
ate  of  lime,  if  it  is  acid. 

If  the  chloride  of  lime  bath  is  made  as  above,  we  do  not  think 
that  there  will  be  any  difficulty  in  working  it. 

CITRIC  ACID  TONING-BATH. 

This  is  a  most  excellent  bath,  either  for  portraits  or  landscapes, 
there  being  in  its  composition  no  strong  alkalies  or  acids  that 
will  be  apt  to  hurt  the  albumen  on  the  prints  a  particle.  We 
used  this  bath  two  years,  and  it  is  a  most  worthy  one.  Here  it  is: 

Solution  No.  1. 

Citric  Acid, . 1  ounce. 

Water, . 20  ounces. 

10 


no 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


Solution  No.  2. 


Chloride  of  Gold,  . 
Water,  . 


15  grains. 
15  ounces. 


Stock  Solution. 


Now  take  of  Solution  No.  1,  two  and  a  half  ounces;  make 
slightly  alkaline  with  saturated  solution  of  bicarbonate  of  soda 
two  and  a  half  ounces,  or  about  that.  Solution  No.  2,  one-half 
ounce  ;  water  sixty-four  ounces. 

When  ready  to  tone  take  sufficient  of  the  “stock  solution  ” 
(which  should  never  be  less  than  three  or  four  days  old),  and  add 
thereto  one  ounce  of  gold  solution  No.  2,  and  make  this  fresh 
solution  which  you  are  about  to  add  to  the  bath  a  little  alkaline 
with  bicarbonate  of  soda. 

A  better  way,  however,  for  the  beginner  to  add  this  fresh  gold 
to  the  bath,  instead  of  pouring  the  gold  immediately  into  the 
bath,  is  to  pour  it  first  into  a  clean  graduate  and  there  make  it 
alkaline.  Pour  some  of  the  toning  solution  (stock)  into  the 
graduate  and  thoroughly  stir  with  a  glass  rod,  and  then  add  the 
whole  to  the  rest  of  the  bath  which  is  in  the  dish  and  stir  well 
again.  To  every  four  sheets  of  paper  you  tone,  add  about  an 
ounce  of  gold  solution  ;  adding,  however,  at  different  stages  of 
the  toning  operations  and  not  all  at  one  time,  as  that  would  make 
the  first  few  batches  of  prints  tone  too  rapidly.  Do  not  add  any 
gold  while  there  are  any  prints  in  the  bath,  and  stir  well,  and 
allow  the  bath  to  stand  without  being  used  for  about  three  or 
four  minutes  after  you  add  the  gold.  I  recommend  the  above 
cure  to  beginners,  because  they  often  obtain  uneven  tones  by  the 
abuse  of  the  advice  given  above. 

Do  not  tone  in  a  too  strong  light,  but  in  rather  a  weak  one, 
and  judge  not  the  tones  of  the  prints  while  in  the  hand,  but  while 
lying  down  in  the  dish. 

Tone  exactly  as  you  wish  them  when  dried,  and  no  more  nor 
less.  Wash  the  prints  constantly  in  running  water  after  toning. 
Fix  as  usual. 


BICARBONATE  OF  SODA  BATH. 


This  is  probably  one  of  the  best  of  baths,  and  I  have  seen 
some  of  the  very  best  of  tones  obtained  with  it. 


TONING  BATHS. 


Ill 


It  is  argued  by  some  that  the  simpler  a  bath  is  the  better,  and 
that  it  is  only  chloride  of  gold  in  the  toning-bath  that  tones,  and 
that  all  other  ingredients  that  are  placed  in  the  bath  are  useless, 
and  this  bath  is  just  what  these  photographers  advise,  since  there 
is  nothing  else  to  be  placed  in  it.  Here  it  is : 

Chloride  of  Gold  Solution  (one  grain  to  the  ounce  of  water),  i  ounce. 

Water,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .16  ounces. 

Bicarbonate  of  Soda  (saturated  solution),  .  .  .  .  10  minims. 

Make  half  an  hour  before  use,  so  as  to  allow  it  to  ripen  thor¬ 
oughly.  Make  of  lukewarm  water.  This  bath  cannot  be  kept, 
and  needs  to  be  made  up  fresh  every  time  you  prepare  to  tone. 
Throw  down  the  gold  in  the  old  bath  with  protosulphate  of  iron. 

It  is  ready  for  toning  when  it  has  commenced  to  discolor  slightly. 

A  favorite  bath  of  mine,  made  as  below,  has  the  following 
merits : 

1.  It  is  simple  in  construction,  and  not  apt  to  be  changeable. 

2.  The  most  beautiful  tones  can  be  obtained  with  it. 

3.  The  alkali  used  in  it  is  not  used  in  such  abundance  as  to 
hurt  the  albumen  a  particle. 

4.  It  will  tone  a  weak  and  flat  print  the  best  of  any  bath  that 
I  have  ever  used. 

The  most  beautiful  tones  are  attainable  with  it,  the  high-lights 
and  half-tints  of  the  face  being  very  clear,  and  cool  in  the  more 
retiring  shades,  while  in  the  hair,  deep  shadows,  and  draperies, 
especially  the  darkest,  there  will  be  a  very  rich,  warm  color. 

There  is  always  a  very  delicate  velvety  look  to  the  prints  when 
properly  toned,  which  is  always  very  much  admired,  being  very 
difficult  to  obtain  with  some  baths. 

It  is  made  as  follows  : 

Chloride  of  Gold,  .  .  .  .  .2  grains. 

Pure  Rain-water,  .  .  .  .  .24  ounces. 

Make  the  solution  slightly  alkaline  with 

Sat.  Sol.  Sal  Soda,  about, .  .  .  .  6  to  8  minims. 

Chloride  of  Sodium  (table  salt),  in  weight,  to  1  ounce. 

In  making  this  bath,  I  first  place  the  quantity  of  gold  solution 
I  am  going  to  use  in  the  dish  at  one  corner,  and  in  it  place  a 
piece  of  blue  litmus-paper,  which  will  immediately  turn  red. 
Now  take  the  bottle  of  sal  soda,  and  drop  into  the  solution  in  the 


112 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


dish  until  the  litmus-paper  turns  a  decided  blue,  which  will  take 
about  six  or  eight  drops.  Then  place  your  water  in  the  dish, 
and  last  of  all  your  salt.  Stir  up  the  contents  well,  and  let  stand 
from  five  to  ten  minutes,  and  it  is  ready  for  use. 

The  bath  should  be  made  up  as  per  formula  every  night,  throw¬ 
ing  down  the  gold  in  the  old  solution  with  protosulphate  of  iron. 

In  toning  with  this,  or  in  fact  with  any  of  the  above  baths, 
should  it  become  exhausted,  then  add  the  ingredients  used  in  the 
first  place  in  exactly  the  same  proportion  as  was  used  in  the 
making  of  it  at  first. 

One  of  the  greatest  mistakes  that  is  made  in  toning  by  some 
toners,  is  in  toning  the  prints  until  the  draperies,  etc.,  are  about 
the  right  shade,  thus  disregarding  the  face,  which  is  the  principal 
attraction  of  the  prints,  and  to  the  toner  it  should  always  be  the 
object  of  attention.  With  the  toning-bath  just  described,  I  will 
here  give  the  mode  of  working,  which,  if  followed  out,  will  be 
productive  of  excellent  results. 

This  toning  should  be  done  in  a  quite  weak  and  even  light,  and 
at  a  little  distance  from  the  window. 

An  idea  of  the  quantity  of  light  required  may  be  had  by  bear¬ 
ing  in  mind  that  all  you  wish  is  to  see  distinctly  and  clearly , 
without  any  guessing. 

Take  a  couple  dozen  of  prints,  and  let  them  lie  in  your  bath 
solution  face  up,  but  constantly  under  the  surface,  and  keep  them 
in  motion  while  in  it.  At  first  the  prints  will  not  perceptibly 
change,  but  within  the  course  of  two  minutes  or  so  the  high-lights 
and  half-tints  of  the  face  will  lose  their  red  tint,  and  will  com¬ 
mence  to  border  on  the  rich  purple,  and  then  they  will  very 
quickly  arrive  at  that  stage  when  they  are  to  be  removed  to  a 
bath  of  running  water. 

The  stage  at  which  the  toning  is  to  be  discontinued  is  per¬ 
haps  at  first  a  little  difficult  to  determine,  and  you  should  tone 
a  batch  and  let  your  assistant  fix  them,  and  when  they  are  fixed, 
not  before,  you  should  judge  of  the  tone. 

Never  take  your  prints  up  in  your  hands  to  examine  them,  for 
you  will  surely  then  be  deceived,  and  take  them  to  be  under¬ 
toned,  when  by  examining  them  while  lying  in  the  dish  they  will 
appear  to  be  toned  plenty. 

The  prints  are  toned  when  the  high-lights  and  half -tints  of  the 


TONING  BATHS. 


113 


face  appear  clear,  and  a  little  blue  when  they  are  lying  down  in  the 
dish  and  examined  in  a  weak  light. 

Take  them  out  immediately,  even  if  upon  looking  at  them  in 
a  stronger  light  the  shadows  and  draperies  should  appear  as  red 
as  fire,  for  the  prints  are  toned.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  you 
will  at  first  overtone  the  prints  rather  than  undertone  them.  Tone 
for  the  lights  and  half -tints,  and  let  the  shadows  take  care  of  them¬ 
selves. 

The  salt  in  the  above  bath  is  the  improvement  of  this  bath  over 
the  common  sal  soda  bath,  and  it  is  partly  owing  to  this  salt  that 
such  beautiful  tones  can  be  obtained.  In  case  you  overtone,  the 
tone  will  never  be  a  disagreeable  slaty  one,  but  rather  a  pretty 
blue. 


ACETATE  OF  SODA  AND  CHALK  TONING-BATH. 


This  bath,  within  the  last  year  or  so,  has  become  quite*popular 
in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and  probably  in  other  cities.  It 
is  made  as  follows  : 


Distilled  Water, 
Acetate  of  Soda, 
Common  Salt, 


64  ounces. 
60  grains. 
60  “ 

6  “ 


Chloride  of  Gold 


Before  the  gold  in  solution  is  added,  place  it  in  a  clean  graduate 
glass,  and  add  one  tablespoonful  of  English  prepared  chalk. 
Stir  well  with  a  clean  glass  rod,  and  filter  through  filtering- 
paper  directly  into  the  above  bath.  Let  the  bath  stand  one 
day  before  use  to  ripen,  and  then  tone  without  adding  any  more 
gold,  as  the  bath  is  neutral,  and  the  gold  which  was  added  the 
day  before  will,  of  course,  then  be  sufficient  to  tone  with.  Tone 
a  little  bluish,  and  then  remove  to  a  bath  of  fresh  water.  Every 
night,  when  through  toning,  add  more  gold  for  the  next  night’s 
use,  in  the  same  manner  described  above.  By  making  up  this 
bath  in  the  first  place  with  boiling  water  instead  of  cold,  it  can 
be  used  for  toning  in  a  very  few  hours,  as  it  ripens  more  quickly. 

The  acetate  of  soda,  as  well  as  the  salt,  is  dispensed  with  by 
some  parties  using  the  so-called  chalk-bath,  but  I  prefer  them. 


10s 


114 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

ARTISTIC  TONING. 

As  a  rule,  in  toning  the  prints,  the  following  will  answer 
admirably,  “Tone  the  prints  just  as  you  wish  them  to  be  when 
done.” 

Looking  over  a  journal  one  day,  in  my  earliest  days  at  print¬ 
ing,  I  saw  an  article  headed  “Artistic  Toning,”  and  upon  read¬ 
ing  it  I  learned  several  things  about  toning,  and  one  little  clause 
was  the  one  above  quoted. 

This  clause  seemed  to  me  to  be  very  important  to  the  young 
printer,  and  I  wondered  at  the  time  why  I  had  never  been  told 
that,  anjj  I  immediately  knew  upon  reading  the  above  clause  that 
I  could  tone,  and  so  I  determined  to  tone  a  batch  of  prints  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  one  rainy  afternoon,  when  the  printer  did 
not  appear  after  he  went  to  dinner,  I  resolved  to  do  the  toning 
myself  without  saying  a  word  to  the  employer  about  it.  So  I 
made  the  bath  as  I  had  seen  the  printer  make  it  a  score  of  times 
before,  warmed  it  slightly,  let  stand  a  few  minutes,  cut,  washed, 
and  acidified  the  prints,  washed  again,  and  then  commenced  to 
tone  them,  toning  three  at  a  time,  and  as  there  were  only  fifty  to 
be  toned,  being  all  that  had  been  printed  on  account  of  the  dark¬ 
ness  of  the  day  and  the  scarcity  of  the  negatives,  I  did  not  doubt 
but  what  I  could  tone  and  fix  them  all  without  help.  This  was 
the  first  batch  of  prints  that  I  ever  had  the  complete  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  toning  and  fixing  of,  and  I  determined  to  let  Mr. 
L.,  the  employer,  and  Mr.  B.,  the  printer,  know  that  I  could 
tone. 

With  anxious  eyes  I  watched  that  first  batch  of  prints,  in  fact 
I  glared  at  them,  and  when  they  arrived  at  that  stage  that  I 
wished  them  to  be  when  finished,  I  took  them  out  and  set  them  to 
washing  in  running  water.  When  my  next  batch  of  prints  was 
almost  toned,  I  placed  in  the  bath  a  print  that  was  not  toned,  and 
compared  the  two,  upon  doing  which  I  found  that  I  could  tone 
much  better.  I  toned  them  all  finally,  fixed,  and  set  to  washing. 

When  through,  the  “boss”  happened  to  think  that  there  was 


ARTISTIC  TONING. 


-115 


“no  toner  upstairs ”  (so  he  expressed  it,  as  I  afterwards  found 
out),  and  he  came  rushing  up  where  I  was,  to  tone  the  prints  be¬ 
fore  it  got  much  darker,  for  the  weather  was  lowering,  and  it  was 
getting  dark  pretty  fast.  I  told  him  that  I  had  toned,  and  he 
expressed  his  surprise  and  inquired,  “Are  any  of  them  good?” 
a  question  which  I  did  not  think  very  complimentary,  I  assure 
you.  I  told  him  that  I  thought  quite  a  number  of  them  were 
good,  and  when  he,  upon  looking  at  them  told  me  that  they  were 
“very  nice  indeed I  felt  bigger  at  the  time  than  I  ever  have  since. 

I  asked  the  printer,  Mr.  B.,  the  next  morning,  how  the  prints 
were  toned,  and  he  said,  “Very  well,  only  they  were  toned  a 
little  uneven,”  and  upon  his  showing  me  what  he  meant,  I  de¬ 
termined,  as  a  natural  consequence,  to  do  better  next  time.  That 
little  clause  led  me  on,  in  time,  to  do  the  toning  in  that  and 
other  establishments,  and  for  the  purpose  of  showing  a  young 
beginner  what  he  can  do  by  a  little  reading  of  how  another  be¬ 
ginner  did,  I  have  been  led  to  write  this  short  sketch  of  my  first 
attempt  at  toning. 

From  the  above  you  see  that  the  idea  in  toning  is  to  tone  the 
prints  until  they  look  as  you  wish  them  to  when  finished,  and 
that  toning,  in  one  respect,  is  not  a  question  of  time  as  fixing  is; 
for  you  remember  that  the  printer,  when  he  fixes  his  prints,  makes 
up  his  solution  of  a  certain  strength,  which  he  makes  sure  of  by 
testing,  and  then  he  times  them,  and  lets  them  remain  in  the  bath 
so  many  minutes.  Now,  the  toner  who  takes  five  minutes  or  so 
to  tone  a  batch  of  prints  would  give  the  impression  to  the  begin¬ 
ner  that  it  was  a  question  of  so  many  minutes,  as  it  is  in  fixing 
prints,  consequently  I  have  here  taken  special  pains  to  contradict 
this  erroneous  thought,  so  as  to  prevent  the  novice  from  beginning 
wrongly,  as  he  would  be  apt  to  do  if  he  was  in  a  place  where  the 
printer  or  printers  would  not  take  any  pains  to  show  him,  but 
would  be  constantly  on  the  hurry  to  get  through  as  soon  as  pos¬ 
sible. 

Now,  since  you  are  to  tone  the  prints  as  you  wish  them  to  look 
when  finished,  let  us  see  if  you  have  the  right  idea  in  your  mind 
as  to' how  they  should  look  when  toned. 

You  should  not  wish  to  have  them  what  may  be  called  “red 
tones,"  i.  e.,  to  have  the  background,  draperies,  hair,  and  the 
face  as  red  as  brick,  or  in  fact  anywhere  near  it. 


116 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


You  should  not  tone  them  so  that  the  draperies  and  shadows 
look  blue. 

Rule  :  You  should  tone  until  the  face  is  slightly  blue,  and  then 
the  prints  should  be  taken  out,  even  if  the  rest  of  the  printed  paper 
is  quite  red. 

With  some  baths,  especially  such  ones  as  the  “acetate  of  soda,” 
and  another  one  described  in  the  preceding  chapter,  this  can  be 
done  very  easily  and  successfully ;  but  there  are  some  baths,  as 
the  “citric  acid,”  “chloride  of  lime,”  etc.,  that  this  treatment 
cannot  be  used  so  well,  and  in  the  case  of  the  “citric  acid  toning- 
bath”  the  shadows  also  will  have  to  be  regarded,  else  the  whole 
print  will  be  as  red  as  a  brick. 

But  a  little  experience  in  toning  with  any  one  bath  will  give 
you  an  idea  as  to  how  far  you  should  tone  before  you  discontinue 
the  operation,  and  set  the  prints  to  washing.  You  may  say  that 
which  I  have  just  written  will  conflict  with  the  rule  given  above, 
but  it  does  not,  for  the  only  difference  is  this :  with  one  bath  you 
can  tone  full  strong,  and  with  another  one,  when  the  proper  state 
has  arrived,  the  prints  should  immediately  be  removed,  and  should 
not  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  bath  until  the  tone  has  reached 
the  more  decided  stage. 

In  baths  containing  either  the  acetate  or  the  chloride  of  sodium, 
or  both,  in  their  composition,  the  above  rule  should  be  strictly 
carried  out. 

The  beginner  should  also  bear  in  mind  that  he  should  endeavor 
to  tone  even.  By  toning  even  I  mean  to  tone  all  prints  of  the 
same  person  alike. 

Some  of  my  readers  might  say  that  it  means  to  tone  the  whole 
batch  of  prints  to  the  same  tone  or  tint. 

Now,  I  suppose  that  this  could  be  followed  out,  but  would  it 
be  called  “artistic  toning”  to  tone  blondes,  blondines,  and 
brunettes  all  the  same  tint,  and  make  the  light  hair  in  one  print 
red  when  it  is  not ;  black  hair  in  another  one  red,  and  red  hair 
black,  etc.  ? 

You  may  say  that  red  hair  takes  black,  which  it  surely  does, 
but  if  it  lies  in  the  power  of  the  toner  to  tone  the  hair  rid,  at 
least  a  little  so,  should  he  not  do  so? 

Another  person  may  have  black  hair:  should  not  the  toner  get 
a  good  dark -brown  tone  on  the  print,  so  as  to  make  the  hair  look 


ARTISTIC  TONING. 


117 


black  (which  it  will  do  when  the  print  is  dry),  and  thus  make 
the  print  more  in  keeping  with  the  original? 

Should  not  a  blonde  have  her  hair  look  light  in  tone,  and 
neither  red  nor  brown,  but  about  somewhere  half  way  between  ? 

The  negatives  of  the  last-named  class  of  subjects  are  generally 
so  made  that  when  you  tone  the  face,  as  per  rule  given  above, 
the  hair  will  be  all  right. 

So  it  is  generally  in  by  far  the  majority  of  cases,  the  yellow 
and  red  hair  being  exceptions.  Of  course  you  cannot  obtain, 
and  I  doubt  if  you  wish  to,  yellow  tones  for  the  hair  ;  but  if  such 
hair  is  taken  nicely  in  the  negative  it  will  very  often  come  round 
to  the  right  tint  in  the  print,  without  making  the  rest  of  the 
print  appear  at  all  yellow,  but  of  a  light  brown  tint.  While 
writing  this  I  have  in  my  hand  such  a  print,  wherein  the  hair  is 
of  a  faint  yellow  tint,  and  the  draperies,  background,  etc.,  are 
of  a  rich  brown  tone.  I  have  obtained  many  such  tones  as  this 
one  by  the  use  of  the  “citric  acid  toning-bath.” 

Excellent  tones  for  the  red  hair,  with  clear  high-lights  and 
half-tints  in  the  face,  are  easily  obtained  with  a  bath  containing 
chloride  of  sodium  in  its  composition.  The  young  beginner 
might  obtain  a  few  ideas  by  the  close  perusal  of  the  preceding 
chapter  about  toning-baths. 

You  might  say  that  it  is  a  difficult  thing  for  a  toner  to  tone  his 
prints  in  the  style  spoken  of  above,  and  also  that  he  cannot  tell 
when  the  hair  should  be  a  decided  red,  black,  or  medium,  on  ac¬ 
count  of  his  never  having  seen  the  original.  For  this  reason  it 
is  advised  by  some  photographers  that  the  operator  should  do  the 
toning,  as  he  knows  more  about  the  “style  of  beauty”  than  the 
printer  who  never  sees  the  original. 

As  far  as  lies  in  the  printer’s  power  he  should  tone  the  prints  as 
near  as  he  can  to  their  proper  color,  and  his  guide  should  be  the 
original. 

A  lady,  who  was  the  possessor  of  “  lovely  {?)  auburn  hair," 
once  said  to  a  photographer : 

“  Why  !  you  have  made  my  hair  jet  black  when  it  is  auburn  /  ” 

“Yes,”  said  a  friend,  “they  have  made  your  lovely  hair  black 
sure  enough  ! ' ' 

Red  hair  was  the  fashion  at  that  time. 

I  know  of  many  first-class  photographers  that  dislike  the  red 


118 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


tones  for  the  reason,  as  I  have  heard  them  say,  “they  are  not 
artistic.” 

An  excellent  photographer  in  Boston,  Mass.,  once  said  to  the 
writer  :  “I  dislike  the  red  tone,  because  it  makes  the  hair  of  some 
people  red  when  it  is  jet  black,  and  I  never  let  my  toner  tone  so 
red  as  to  make  the  hair  look  at  all  so,  but  I  request  him  to  ob¬ 
tain  a  rich  brown  tone  to  his  prints,  and  then  they  will  be  more 
in  keeping  with  the  original  in  the  majority  of  cases.” 

There  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  among  first-class  photog¬ 
raphers  about  the  proper  kind  of  tones  to  be  obtained,  as  many 
of  us  are  aware,  and  would  it  not  be  better  for  us  to  go  by  the 
advice  of  those  more  skilled  in  the  art  than  some  of  us  are? 

I  myself  have  always  admired  the  German  portrait  stereo¬ 
graphs,  the  tones  of  many  of  which  I  think  are  perfect. 

It  is  not  only  in  the  portrait  work  that  this  toning  is  to  be  so  ob¬ 
served,  but  it  should  be  more  so  in  landscapes,  marine  views,  etc. 

Always  tone  them  more  than  what  you  would  portraits,  as  red 
tones  on  views  are  abominable,  and  then  by  toning  them  a  rich 
brown  the  finished  print  will  look  as  the  views  do  in  nature,  and 
trees,  rocky  bluffs,  fences,  wood-piles,  water,  logs  in  water,  re¬ 
flections  in  the  water,  steamers,  etc.,  will  be  delineated  in  the 
print  with  wonderful  fidelity. 

I  have  in  my  hand  at  the  present  moment,  one  of  the  best- 
toned  stereoscopic  photographs  that  I  ever  saw.  The  beauty  of 
its  tone  consists  in  its  perfect  trueness  to  nature ;  at  least  it  is  as 
far  perfect  as  lies  in  the  power  of  the  toner  to  make  it. 

Artistic  toning  of  stereoscopic  views  can  be  seen  by  examining 
a  collection  of  Kilburn  Bros.,  Littleton,  N.  H.,  or  the  Centen¬ 
nial  Photographic  Company,  Philadelphia,  and  artistic  toning  of 
portraits  by  examining  those  of  Fritz  Luckhardt,  of  Vienna, 
Mora,  of  New  York,  and  Gilbert  &  Bacon,  of  Philadelphia. 

It  would  be  a  good  thing  for  the  young  beginner  to  get  his 
employer  to  purchase  for  him  a  dozen  or  so  assorted  prints  from 
those  galleries.  1  did  so,  and  from  the  study  of  them  I  derived 
considerable  knowledge  besides  much  pleasure. 

Weak  prints  should  be  toned  in  a  very  weak  toning-bath,  as 
when  the  bath  is  very  nearly  exhausted,  and  face  up  in  the  solution. 

Intense  or  hard  prints  should  be  toned  quite  quickly  in  a  strong 
bath,  and  face  down  in  the  solution. 


ARTISTIC  TONING. 


119 


Prints'face  up  in  the  toning-bath  tone  slower  than  when  face 
down. 

Weak  prints,  in  all  solutions,  should  be  subjected  to  mild 
treatment. 

A  black  tone  is  obtained  by  toning  full  strong  in  almost  any 
bath  if  it  contains  a  trace  of  chloride  of  lime. 

A  chocolate  tone  is  obtained  by  toning  a  little  longer  than 
what  you  would  for  a  red  tone,  in  almost  any  bath  except  the 
chloride-of-lime  bath,  and  sometimes  it  can  be  obtained  in  this 
bath  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  according  to  the  quality  of  the 
negatives. 

A  decided  brown  tone  is  obtained  by  toning  a  trifle  longer  than 
what  you  would  do  to  obtain  a  chocolate  tone. 

To  obtain  a  purple  tone  you  should  tone  between  a  chocolate 
and  a  brown  until  the  print  commences  to  show  the  least  possible 
signs  of  this  tone,  then  take  it  from  the  bath,  and  fix  and  wash, 
and  when  it  is  finally  all  finished  it  will  be  purplish  in  tint.  The 
“sal  soda-bath”  is  excellent  for  these  kind  of  tones,  and  they 
are  quite  easy  to  obtain,  especially  if  the  prints  are  strong,  bold, 
and  possess  good  toning  qualities.  A  “  nitrate-of-uranium  bath  ” 
is  also  excellent. 

A  blue  tone  is  obtained  by  almost  any  bath,  but  a  good,  clear, 
and  pretty  blue  is  a  little  hard  to  obtain,  unless  the  negatives 
from  which  the  prints  were  printed  are  excellent  ones,  containing 
good  toning  qualities. 

The  “bicarbonate  of  sodium”  is  an  excellent  bath  to  obtain 
rich  blue  tones. 

All  of  the  above  tones  are  obtained  more  by  removing  a  print 
at  certain  stages  of  the  toning  from  the  solution  than  by  any  par¬ 
ticular  bath,  although  some  baths  may  be  better  than  others  for 
producing  particular  tones.  It  is,  in  a  great  measure,  however, 
simply  a  matter  of  taste  and  experience. 


120 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

FIXING  BATHS  AND  FIXING  PRINTS. 

As  has  before  been  written  in  one  of  the  preceding  chapters, 
the  prints  need  a  fixing  agent  to  remove  all  trace  of  the  silver  in 
them. 

This  fixing  agent  used  is  hyposulphite  of  sodium,  and  a  bath 
of  it  is  made  of  a  certain  strength  by  dissolving  this  in  a  quantity 
of  water,  and  the  prints  are  immersed  therein  for  a  number  of 
minutes. 

There  is  a  diversity  of  opinion  among  photographers  about  the 
strength  of  the  fixing-bath,  some  using  it  much  stronger  than 
others  do. 

I  am  inclined  towards  having  a  weak  bath,  and  fixing  a  longer 
time  than  I  would  with  a  strong  bath,  as  the  action  will  be  more 
gentle,  and  on  the  whole  better  results  are  obtained  by  so  doing, 
and  blistering  and  bleaching  are,  in  a  great  measure,  cured.  It 
is  very  important  that  the  hypo-bath  should  be  made  up  every 
time  you  require  its  use,  as  old  hypo-baths  are  very  injurious  to 
the  prints. 

Take  a  two-gallon  bottle,  and  place  in  it  about  ten  pounds  of 
the  hypo  crystals,  fill  up  with  water,  shake  well,  and  label  this 
bottle  “Sat.  Sol.  Hyposulphite  of  Soda,”  and  when  you  have 
made  it  saturated,  you  are  then  ready  to  make  the  bath  as  per 
formula  given  below.  To  be  sure  that  this  hypo  solution  becomes 
saturated,  make  it  up  at  least  two  days  before  you  wish  to  use  it. 
Just  before  using,  shake  the  contents  in  the  bottle  for  about  two 
minutes. 

When  you  wish  to  make  the  bath,  take  of 

Sat.  Sol.  Hyposulphite  of  Soda,  .  .  .  .  i  ounce. 

Water,  .  •  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .8  ounces. 

Sat.  Sol.  Bicarbonate  of  Soda,  .  .  .  •  %  ounce. 

Large  quantities  in  proportion. 

Make  if  up  in  a  Pish,  which  is  kept  expressly  for  this,  and  this 
alone. 

The  bicarbonate  of-  soda  is  used  in  the  fixing  bath  for  the  pur- 


FIXING  BATHS  AND  FIXING  PRINTS. 


121 


\ 


pose  of  making  alkaline  any  free  acid  there  may  exist  in  the  so¬ 
lution. 

This  is  very  important,  for  in  case  the  solution  should  happen 
to  be  acid,  it  would  finally  be  the  means  of  liberating  sulphur 
and  forming  sulphide  of  silver,  and  it  would  deposit  itself  on  the 
prints,  affecting  them  seriously  in  look,  tone,  and  permanence. 

Aqua  ammonia  is  sometimes  used  for  the  same  purpose,  but  if 
it  is  to  be  used,  only  a  few  drops  of  it  are  necessary,  as  any  more 
will  cause  the  albumen  on  the  prints  to  become  very  tender, 
giving  a  look  of  transparency  to  the  whole  print.  The  prints  are 
very  easily  torn  when  the  ammonia  is  used  to  excess,  on  account 
of  the  softness  of  the  paper.  On  the  whole,  I  think  it  better  to 
use  bicarbonate  of  soda,  as  it  is,  as  before  said,  a  much  milder 
alkali  than  ammonia. 

During  the  cold  months  of  winter,  and  also  at  all  times  when 
the  water  is  cold,  the  soda  solution  should  be  heated  to  about  a 
lukewarm  state  (no  more),  as  the  action  of  freezing  hyposulphite 
of  soda  solution  will  be  very  slow,  and  also  injurious  to  the  prints, 
causing  innumerable  blisters  all  over  them. 

An  assistant  should  pass  the  prints  from  the  washing-tank,  a 
number  at  a  time  (so  as  to  get  them  in  as  near  as  possible  at  the 
same  time),  and  place  them  in  the  hypo  bath  (without  touching 
the  hypo  solution  with  the  fingers  while  passing  the  hands  from 
one  to  the  other),  and  the  operator  at  the  hypo  bath  should  sepa¬ 
rate  and  cover  them  with  the  solution  as  soon  as  he  can ,  for  if  this 
is  not  done,  and  the  prints  are  fixed  imperfectly,  they  will  then 
have  mottled  yellowish-brown  spots  all  over  them  where  they  have 
been  laid  together,  and  which  are  very  observable  when  washed 
and  dried.  More  about  imperfect  fixing,  etc.,  at  some  future  time. 

After  you  have  had  all  the  prints  placed  in  the  bath,  then  note 
the  time  by  the  clock. 

Keep  the  prints  in  constant  motion  while  in  this  bath,  and  do 
not  allow  one  single  print  to  stick  to  another,  even  for  the  space 
of  ten  seconds,  if  you  wish  to  have  them  properly  fixed. 

Too  much  attention  cannot  be  given  to  this  little  thing  if  you 
wish  to  have  your  prints  fixed  evenly,  and  not  have  them  come 
out  when  finished  full  of  darkish-brown  spots,  yellow  stains,  etc. 

The  reason  why  I  have  advised  you  to  have  an  assistant  place 
the  prints  in  the  bath  for  you  is,  because  if  you  are  inexperienced 

11 


122 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


in  doing  it  yourself,  you  will  be  apt  to  get  some  of  the  hypo  on 
the  prints  before  they  are  wholly  placed  in  the  bath  and  under 
the  solution,  and  when  you  do  that  they  will  be  spoiled,  and  all 
of  the  subsequent  fixing  will  not  remove  it.  They  will  be  stained, 
and  among  other  things  there  will  be  the  so-called  “finger- 
stains,”  caused  by  the  fingers  having  had  hypo  on  them  when 
the  prints  were  taken  up,  just  after  toning  and  before  fixing. 

After  the  prints  have  been  in  constant  motion  for  full  eight 
minutes,  look  through  them  by  holding  them,  one  at  a  time,  be¬ 
tween  you  and  the  light,  and  after  you  have  looked  at  a  dozen  or 
so,  and  the  shadows,  hair,  etc.,  present  a  clear  transparent  appear¬ 
ance  (and  not  at  all  mottled)  to  the  critical  eye,  the  prints  are 
fixed.  If  they  are  not  clear,  let  them  remain  in  the  bath  until 
they  are.  An  experienced  “fixer”  can  tell  in  a  few  moments 
whether  they  are  fixed  or  not  by  doing  as  has  just  been  said. 

If  the  prints  are  fixed,  then  pour  off  about  one-half  of  the  so¬ 
lution  in  the  dish,  and  fill  up  with  an  equal  quantity  of  water. 
Move  the  prints  continually  in  this  water  for  about  five  minutes 
longer,  then  pour  off  about  three-quarters  of  this,  and  fill  up 
again.  The  reason  of  this  is  to  get  the  density  of  the  liquid 
down  gradually  to  that  of  water,  so  that  the  prints  will  not  blister, 
which  they  would  surely  do  if  they  were  placed  directly  from  the 
hypo  into  the  water  ready  for  washing.  Alcohol  placed  in  the 
hypo  bath  answers  the  same  purpose. 

Some  printers  (myself  among  them)  place  their  prints,  after 
they  are  removed  from  the  hypo,  in  a  bath  of  salt  water,  made 
by  placing  a  handful  of  table-salt  to  every  gallon  of  water.  Let 
them  remain  in  this  from  five  to  ten  minutes,  and  then  set  them 
to  washing.  The  object  of  this  salt  is  not  only  to  displace  the 
hypo  from  the  prints  so  that  they  will  wash  better,  but  also  to 
prevent  them  from  blistering  in  the  subsequent  operations,  and 
when  already  blistered  to  cure  it. 


WASHING  THE  PRINTS. 


123 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

FINAL  WASHING  OF  THE  PRINTS. 

The  prints,  after  they  are  removed  from  the  salt-water  bath,  are 
then  to  receive  the  final  washing,  which  will  render  them  ready 
for  the  further  operations,  such  as  mounting  and  finishing.  I 
would  here  most  earnestly  advise  all  printers  to  allow  their  prints 
to  soak  about  ten  minutes  in  salt  water,  as  written  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  chapter,  before  you  proceed  to  wash  them,  as  besides 
saving  the  annoyance  of  having  blisters  on  them,  they  will  also 
be  much  more  easily  washed. 

This  washing  is  the  most  important  of  any  of  the  washings  be¬ 
fore  mentioned,  because  if  it  is  insufficiently  done,  the  result  will 
be  much  more  disastrous  than  any  of  the  others.  The  other 
washings  were  only  to  prepare  the  prints  for  other  solutions,  and 
it  was  not  so  important,  as  the  silver  would  finally  be  removed  in 
the  fixing-bath.  But  in  this  case,  when  you  discontinue  the 
washing  and  proceed  to  mount  the  prints,  they  will  then  in  the 
future  be  good,  bad,  or  indifferent,  according  as  to  how  the  final 
washing  was  done.  This  destroying  power  which  is  so  necessary 
to  be  removed,  is  the  hyposulphite  of  sodium,  a  considerable 
quantity  of  which  still  remains  in  the  print.  The  theory  of  wash¬ 
ing  is  that  the  water  gradually  displaces  the  hypo  in  the  prints, 
provided  the  washing  is  permitted  to  continue  long  enough,  and 
then  the  prints  can  be  mounted  and  dried  without  any  danger  of 
bad  results  from  further  chemical  action.  The  young  beginner 
can  thus  see  the  necessity  of  frequent  changes  of  water  to  remove 
this  destroying  agent,  and  hence  it  would  be  a  good  plan  for  the 
first  half  hour  or  so  after  the  prints  are  fixed  to  wash  them  by 
hand,  and  then  trust  to  the  washing  apparatus,  whatever  that  may 
be.  In  small  establishments  this  washing  is  done  by  permitting 
the  water  to  run  into  a  dish  at  one  corner.  When  they  are  so 
done,  it  would  be  best  to  do  as  recommended,  as  they  are  likely 
to  be  all  together  the  greater  part  of  the  time  when  thus  washed. 

Washing  by  hand  can  be  done  in  the  following  simple,  yet 
effective,  way : 


124 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


Take  a  suitable  size  dish,  fill  about  half  full  of  water,  and  when 
the  prints  are  removed  from  the  salt  water,  place  them  in  this 
bath  of  clear  water  with  one  hand,  while  with  the  other  you  place 
them  under  the  surface.  When  the  prints  are  all  placed  in  this 
bath  of  water,  then  move  them  all  about  for  five  minutes,  and 
then  pour  off  the  water  and  fill  up  again,  and  let  them  stay  in 
five  minutes  more. 

Do  this  for  four  or  five  times  more,  using  lukewarm  water,  as 
it  will  do  the  work  quicker  than  cold,  and  then  they  will  be  ready 
to  wash  in  the  dish,  as  above  described,  by  arranging  the  hose  so 
that  the  water  will  run  through  and  between  the  prints.  When 
there  are  only  six  or  eight  scores  of  prints,  they  will  be  washed 
in  a  short  time. 

The  great  secret  in  washing  prints  is  to  keep  them  separated 
front  each  other ,  thus  permitting  the  fresh  water  to  move  between 
them  all  of  the  time. 

In  large  batches  of  prints,  say  twenty,  thirty,  or  forty  sheets 
of  paper,  this  washing  cannot  be  done  in  so  simple  a  way  as  the 
above,  hence  it  becomes  necessary  to  have  a  washing-tank  that 
will,  on  account  of  its  peculiarly  adapted  make,  wash  the  prints 
perfectly,  and  a  longer  or  shorter  time  is  required,  according  as 
to  how  thoroughly  the  tank  does  its  work. 

To  keep  the  small  cartes  from  getting  between  large  prints,  say 
14x17,  and  even  larger  ones,  and  thus  getting  imperfectly  washed, 
a  series  of  washing-tanks  are  arranged,  a  large  one  of  which  is 
intended  for  the  washing  of  large  prints  alone,  and  a  smaller  one 
for  the  cartes  de  visile,  Victoria,  and  Cabinet  size. 

Kvery  photograph  gallery  has  some  sort  of  a  tank  which  is  in¬ 
tended  for  this  washing,  and  I  will  mention  here  that  these  final 
washing-tanks  should  never  be  used  for  any  of  the  other  opera¬ 
tions,  such  as  the  other  washings,  fixing,  etc. 

These  tanks  are  more  or  less  perfect  in  performing  their  work, 
but  there  is  one  idea  that  is  generally  carried  out  in  them  all,  and 
that  is  to  have  an  outlet  in  the  bottom  of  the  tank  or  tanks  so 
arranged  that,  without  sucking  the  prints  in,  the  water  can  be  let 
out  at  the  opposite  side  to  where  the  fresh  water  is  supplied. 

To  keep  these  prints  in  motion  while  washing,  and  thus  make 
them  “  rc^-washing,”  a  rotary  motion  is  given  to  them  on  ac¬ 
count  of  the  manner  in  which  the  water  enters  the  tank.  A  half- 


FINAL  WASHING  OF  THE  PRINTS. 


125 


inch  pipe  generally  runs  along  the  inside  of  the  tank,  suspended 
midway  between  the  top  and  bottom,  and  having  small  holes  so 
made  in  it  that  minute  streams  of  water  strike  the  water  obliquely 
in  the  same  direction  and  at  different  parts  of  the  surface,  thereby 
causing  the  water  to  rotate  around  the  tank,  carrying  the  prints 
with  it. 

The  tank  is  so  made  that  the  diameter  increases  as  it  proceeds 
towards  the  bottom  of  the  tank,  so  as  to  prevent  the  prints  from 
sticking  to  the  sides  of  it,  and  to  be  doubly  sure  that  they  will 
not  adhere  to  the  sides,  there  is  on  the  under  surface  of  the  pipe 
an  array  of  small  holes  running  the  whole  length  of  it,  sending 
small  streams  of  water  down  the  sides  of  the  tank,  driving  away 
the  prints  which  may  be  there.  To  prevent  the  apparatus  from 
overflowing,  an  overflow  is  made,  which,  when  the  water  has 
reached  that  level,  it  can  be  run  off  without  danger  of  carrying 
the  prints  with  it.  But  better  still  are  those  tanks  which  are  got 
up  on  the  siphon  plan,  and  then  when  the  water  has  reached  the 
proper  level  (which  you  can  regulate),  it  is  all  let  off,  leaving  the 
prints  in  an  inch  or  two  of  water  on  the  bottom  of  the  tank,  which 
is,  of  course,  so  made  as  to  prevent  any  hurt  coming  to  the  prints. 

A  washing  apparatus  got  up  on  the  siphon  arrangement,  and 
emptying  itself  every  twenty  or  twenty-five  minutes,  is  one  which 
1  used  in  a  printing-room  of  an  excellent  gallery  for  a  number  of 
months. 

It  slanted  outward  as  it  proceeded  towards  the  bottom,  for  the 
same  reason  as  was  stated  above,  i.  e.,  to  prevent  the  prints  from 
sticking  to  the  sides. 

The  pipe  in  it  was  arranged  as  was  described  above,  and  the 
bottom  of  the  tank  was  covered  with  small  pebbles  about  two 
inches  in  depth,  which  are  or  should  be  evenly  distributed. 
Close  to  the  bottom  of  the  tank,  on  the  side,  a  hole  was  made 
(hid  from  the  prints  by  a  piece  of  glass,  the  edges  of  which  were 
ground  smoothly),  which  permitted  the  water  to  pass  through  by 
means  of  a  little  iron  pipe  (varnished)  two  inches  in  length,  which 
fits  in  exactly  close  to  the  wood.  About  an  inch  of  this  pipe  pro¬ 
jects  beyond  the  tub,  and  a  piece  of  suitable  rubber  hose  is 
fastened  and  beat  in  the  form  of  a  siphon,  the  higher  level  of 
which  is  fastened  by  a  wire  in  its  proper  position.  When  the 
water  in  the  tub  has  reached  the  highest  level  of  the  siphon,  the 

11* 


1215 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


water,  which  has  been  gradually  working  up  in  the  hose,  will  flow 
therefrom,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  tank  will  be  emptied  of  the 
water,  although  there  is  a  stream  running  in  all  of  the  time.  The 
prints  will  be  gently  let  down  into  the  pebbles,  and  the  water, 
after  it  has  ceased  to  run  out,  will  again  cover  the  prints,  and  set 
them  afloat  before  they  have  hardly  stopped  draining. 

The  supply  water  never  should  enter  the  tank  nearly  as  quickly 
as  the  siphon  carries  it  off  when  it  has  once  started.  No  danger 
need  to  be  apprehended  from  the  drying  of  the  prints  while  the 
tank  is  filling  up  again  after  it  has  once  been  emptied. 

For  large  prints  this  is  not  very  good,  especially  if  there  are  a 
quantity  of  them,  but  on  the  whole  it  is  a  very  good  arrangement. 

In  large  establishments  the  prints  are  generally  allowed  to  wash 
all  night,  and  if  there  are  many  to  be  washed  it  had  better  be  so 
done,  unless  the  whole  of  the  washing  is  done  by  hand,  and  then 
a  shorter  time  will  answer. 

Prints  which  are  toned  and  washed  Saturday  afternoon  should 
be  washed  by  hand  and  mounted  up  before  you  leave  the  estab¬ 
lishment  for  the  night,  as  remaining  in  the  water  over  Sunday 
will  very  much  affect  the  prints ;  for,  of  course,  they  are  not  to 
be  mounted  on  Sunday.  In  some  establishments  the  printers  do 
not  print  photographs  on  Saturday,  but  spend  the  day  framing, 
making  porcelains,  etc. 

The  prints  should  be  tested  before  they  are  removed  from  the 
tank  for  the  purpose  of  being  mounted,  to  see  as  to  whether  they 
are  perfectly  washed  or  not. 

Dr.  H.  Vogel,  in  his  Handbook  of  Photography ,  recommends 
the  following  mode  of  testing : 

First,  we  will  give  his  mode  of  preparing  the  “Iodide  of 
Starch,”  which  is  used  in  testing. 

“One  grain  arrowroot  is  mixed  with  a  few  drops  of  cold  water; 
next  about  one  hundred  parts  of  distilled  boiling  water  are  poured 
on  it,  and  afterwards  twenty  parts  of  chemically  pure  saltpetre 
are  added  to  make  the  paste  keep.  To  the  solution  of  starch 
twenty  grains  of  a  wine-yellow  solution  of  iodine  in  iodide  of 
potassium  solution  is  added  (a  bit  of  iodine  thrown  into  a  solu¬ 
tion  of  iodide  of  potassium  i :  20  will  furnish  this  in  a  few  sec¬ 
onds).  This  will  give  a  blue  solution  of  iodide  of  starch,  which 
will  keep  for  about  four  weeks.” 


FINAL  WASHING  OF  THE  PRINTS. 


127 


“When  the  washing  is  finished,”  says  Dr.  Vogel,  “the  pic¬ 
tures  are  separated  under  water,  and  a  portion  of  the  last  water 
is  taken  from  the  box.  For  the  purpose  of  testing,  two  test-tubes 
of  equal  size  and  perfectly  clean  should  be  selected ;  in  each  an 
equal  quantity  of  a  solution  of  iodide  of  starch  should  be  filled; 
to  the  one  tube  fresh  water  from  the  reservoir  is  added  ;  to  the 
other  an  equal  quantity  from  the  last  water  in  the  wash-box.  It 
remains  only  necessary  to  shake  both  tubes  well,  and  to  hold  them 
against  a  piece  of  white  paper  in  order  to  ascertain  if  in  one  of 
the  tubes  a  discoloration  has  taken  place.  The  greatest  cleanli¬ 
ness  of  the  hands  and  test-tubes  is  necessary.  Even  with  a  mil¬ 
lionfold  dilution  the  presence  of  soda  can  be  detected.  When 
the  test  shows  that  soda,  or  even  a  trace  of  it,  is  still  present,  the 
washing  should  be  repeated.  When  we  wish  to  test  finished  pic¬ 
tures  by  this  method,  we  must  soak  them  first  in  water,  and  then 
test  the  water  as  described  above.” 

Before  you  proceed  to  remove  the  prints  from  the  tank  let  off 
all  of  the  water  in  it,  and  rinse  them  well  in  a  bath  of  clean  rain¬ 
water,  so  as  to  remove  all  traces  of  the  iron-rust  and  settlings 
from  the  water,  which  may  have  been  carried  in  the  tank  through 
the  supply.  Rinse  the  prints  in  two  or  three  changes,  so  as  to 
get  them  as  clean  as  possible,  and  they  will  be  much  nicer  and 
cleaner  when  they  are  finished.  When  the  prints  are  removed 
from  the  tank  always  rinse  it,  and  fill  up  again  with  fresh  water, 
'hnd  it  will  be  ready  for  use  next  time.  If  the  pebbles  are  used 
in  the  tank  they  should  be  washed  every  day.  If  the  tank  is 
made  of  wood,  then  once  a  week  or  fortnight  let  off  all  the  water 
in  the  morning,  and  dry  it  thoroughly,  and  varnish  all  over  the 
tank  and  pipe  with  some  shellac  varnish,  and  you  will  keep  the 
tank  in  better  condition  by  so  doing,  being  more  easily  cleaned 
in  the  future  from  settlings,  etc. 

Once  in  every  two  or  three  months  scrape  off  the  old  shellac 
with  a  broken  piece  of  glass,  and  varnish  it  anew.  Too  much 
care  cannot  be  given  to  this,  and  in  fact  to  all  your  tanks  and 
sinks,  for  they  should  all  be  shellaced. 

All  of  these  little  things  help  towards  making  fine  work. 


128 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

MOUNTING  THE  PRINTS. 

I 

Of  all  subjects  of  photography,  this  has  received  the  least  at¬ 
tention. 

The  simple  process  of  mounting  is  a  thing  of  some  little  me¬ 
chanical  skill,  as  I  think  all  photographers  will  agree  with  me  in 
saying. 

The  making  of  the  starch  paste,  if  that  is  used,  is  at  first  a  little 
troublesome  to  the  beginner,  as  is  also  the  glue,  gum,  etc.,  and 
then  the  placing  of  them  on  the  cards,  although  a  mere  mechani¬ 
cal  process,  should  be  done  well. 

In  galleries  where  only  two  or  three  hundred  of  small  cards 
are  printed  in  a  day,  surely  these  few,  when  compared  to  fifteen 
or  twenty  hundred,  which  is  the  daily  average  in  some  galleries 
during  “the  harvest,”  ought  to  be  mounted  well,  indeed  excel¬ 
lent,  when  we  consider  that  all  that  is  required  to  make  them  so 
is  only  a  little  care. 

What  is  the  effect  left  upon  our  minds  when  we  examine  prints 
that  are  nicely  printed,  cut,  toned,  etc.,  and  are  mounted  badly? 
Does  it  not  strike  us  unfavorably?  I  think  it  does. 

It  is  acknowledged  by  many  photographers  that  the  starch  usefl 
in  mounting  is  the  cause  of  their  fading,  and  the  reason  why  this 
is  so  universally  used  is,  because  all  photographers  have  learned 
to  make  it,  and  as  they  are  either  ignorant  of  its  effects  on  the 
prints,  or  if  not  ignorant,  too  careless  or  heedless  to  take  measures 
to  prevent  the  use  of  it. 

But  if  this  mountant  is  really  the  cause  of  their  fading,  which 
I  think  is  partly  true  (but  1  also  think  that  too  much  blame  is 
given  to  it,  when  careless  manipulation  has  considerable  to  do 
with  it),  why  is  it  then  used? 

I  have  mounted  prints  with  starch ,  and  one  day,  after  mount¬ 
ing  a  batch  of  them  with  it,  I  saved  a  few  for  myself  for  the 
purpose  of  experimenting,  and  wrote  on  the  back  of  the  mounts 
such  writing  that  would  tell  me  at  some  future  time  why  I  had 
saved  these  particular  prints. 


MOUNTING  THE  PRINTS. 


129 


I  experimented  considerably  with  them,  and  placed  them  in  a 
very  dry  atmosphere  for  a  month,  then  directly  in  a  very  damp 
cellar  for  another  month,  in  a  dark  album  for  a  fortnight,  among 
the  samples  of  work  in  the  reception-room,  on  a  shelf  in  the 
chemical-room  for  a  week,  in  the  dark-room  for  a  fortnight, 
where  there  was  a  strong  smell  of  cyanuret  of  potassium,  ether, 
etc.,  down  cellar  again,  under  strong  diffused  light  for  a  fort¬ 
night,  in  the  damp-box  for  a  week,  and  in  spite  of  all  these  tests 
I  could  not  get  the  prints  to  show  either  stains,  bleaching,  cockling, 
or  fading. 

Verily,  they  were  tested  well,  and  “they  stood  the  test  like  a 
martyr.  ’  ’ 

It  is  said  by  many,  and,  as  far  as  theory  goes,  it  is  correct,  that 
the  starch  used  in  mounting  the  prints  would  ferment  if  the  prints 
were  exposed  to  various  degrees  of  temperature,  such  as  dampness 
and  dryness. 

As  above  stated,  theoretically  this  is  the  very  best  reason  why 
the  prints  would  fade,  but  in  practice  they  do  not  fade  so  quickly 
after  all,  as  the  above  test  has  proved  to  me,  for  I  do  not  doubt 
but  that  the  prints  were  exposed  to  more  changes  as  regards  tem¬ 
perature,  odor  of  chemicals,  etc.,  than  what  comes  to  most  prints 
during  twenty  years,  and  if  they  were  to  fade  at  all,  I  should 
think  that  the  above  would  do  it,  and  with  one  exception,  viz., 
age,  they  have  stood  a  greater  test  than,  as  before  said,  the 
generality  of  prints  have  ever  received. 

Now,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  prints  never  fade  from  the  fer¬ 
menting  of  the  starch  used  in  mounting,  for  I  think  that  if  they 
were  kept  for  many  months  in  damp  places  they  might  possibly  fade, 
but  this  is,  I  really  believe,  very  seldom  the  cause  of  their  fading. 

A  very  good  way  to  make  this  paste  is  to  first  dissolve  the 
starch  in  a  little  cold  water  in  a  suitable  dipper.  Now  obtain 
some  boiling  water,  and  keep  pouring  a  small  stream  of  it  in  the 
dipper  where  the  dissolved  starch  is  (keeping  the  dipper  on  the 
hot  stove),  stirring  the  contents  quickly  all  of  the  time.  When 
it  is  thick  enough,  then  stop  the  pouring  in  of  the  water,  and  stir 
well  until  the  starch  commences  to  boil,  at  which  time  it  should 
immediately  be  removed,  and  your  paste  will  be  nicely  made,  and 
there  will  be  no  lumps  in  it ;  after  it  is  cooled  remove  the  upper 
crust,  and  you  will  not  have  any  “cobble-stones”  in  it. 


130 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


Glue  is  an  excellent  mountant,  and  is  used  by  many  skilled 
photographers. 

It  is  made  as  follows : 

Obtain  some  of  the  best  clean  light  glue  and  soak  the  whole  of 
it  in  cold  water  over  night.  The  next  day,  strain  off  the  dirt  in 
the  water  and  then  pour  the  thin  glue-water  back  again  into  the 
dish.  Dissolve  the  glue  as  it  is  on  a  hot  stove  or  over  a  small  jet 
of  gas,  adding  hot  water  to  it  in  case  it  is  going  to  be  too  thick, 
which  you  can  easily  tell  by  stirring  the  contents  of  the  gluepot 
with  a  stick  After  it  is  all  dissolved  and  ready  for  use,  strain 
the  whole  through  two  or  three  thicknesses  of  muslin  in  a  clean 
and  suitable  size  gluepot.  While  using  the  glue,  place  it  in  a 
dish  containing  hot  water,  and  the  glue  will  be  kept  in  a  good 
condition  for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  longer  still  if  the  water  is 
kept  always  hot.  This  can  be  used  day  after  day  as  required,  by 
dissolving  and  adding  more  water  as  necessary. 

If  the  glue  is  clear  and  light  in  color  it  is  an  excellent  mountant, 
and  I  prefer  it  to  starch.  Its  use  is  complained  of  by  some  be¬ 
cause,  they  say,  it  cockles  the  prints,  and  a  little  of  the  best  white 
powdered  sugar  is  added  to  keep  it  and  to  prevent  it  from  cock¬ 
ling.  Two  reasons  of  this  cockling,  when  using  either  glue  or 
starch  (whichever  it  may  be),  are  using  it  too  thick ,  as  well  as  too 
thin,  and  then  again,  in  insufficient  “rubbing  down”  of  the 
prints  after  mounting. 

The  small  prints,  as  they  are  removed  from  the  water,  are  laid 
in  a  neat  pile  face  down. 

A  suitable  size  glass,  say  eight  by  ten,  is  covered  with  the  same 
size  piece  of  clean  unsized  paper,  which  is  thoroughly  wetted,  and 
when  the  prints  in  the  water  are  thoroughly  rinsed,  they  are  laid 
in  a  perfectly  even  bunch  on  it,  the  different  sizes  to  themselves. 
The  paper  laid  on  the  glass  serves  to  keep  the  prints  damper  than 
the  bare  glass  would.  Use  clean  paper  every  time  you  prepare 
to  mount  the  prints. 

The  prints  are  mounted  for  convenience  in  a  wet  state.  The 
object  of  mounting  with  the  starch  or  glue,  as  the  case  may  be, 
is  to  fill  up  the  pores,  and  thus  bring  the  print  in  perfect  contact 
with  the  card-mount,  which  is  aided  very  much  in  the  so-called 
process  of  “  rubbing  down.”  4 

You  should  apply  the  starch  or  glue  to  the  prints  quite  thinly, 


FINISHING  THE  PRINTS. 


131 


and  after  laying  them  carefully  on  the  mounts,  lay  a  sheet  of  thick 
writing-paper,  or  better  still,  some  unsized  printing-paper,  on  it, 
and  rub  the  prints,  commencing  at  about  the  centre  and  rubbing 
outwards,  which  process  will  perfectly  remove  all  air-bubbles  from 
under  their  surface.  Then  bend  backwards  the  mounted  print, 
and  rub  the  finger  along  the  edges  carefully  of  all  the  sides  of  it. 
I  recommend  bending  in  of  the  back  of  the  mount,  because,  in 
drying,  the  print  draws  the  thick  cardboard  inward,  and  this 
counteracts  it,  and  the  dried  prints  will  be  flat,  and  can  conse¬ 
quently  be  finished  better.  The  prints  should  be  allowed  to  dry 
spontaneously,  and  then  they  would  not  be  so  likely  to  come  up 
as  they  would  if  they  were  dried  by  the  fire. 

In  mounting  large  prints,  lay  a  print  at  a  time  on  some  thick¬ 
nesses  of  clean  paper,  and  where  there  is  no  trace  of  starch,  and 
after  pasting  mount  it  on  a  suitable  size  cardboard,  and  rub  well 
from  the  middle  outwards  as  in  the  small  prints,  examining  after¬ 
wards  to  see  as  to  whether  there  are  any  air-bubbles  which  es¬ 
caped  notice,  and  if  so,  be  careful  to  remove  all  of  them.  When 
applying  paste  to  the  print  for  the  purpose  of  mounting,  examine 
the  surface,  and  if  there  are  any  hard  bunches  of  paste,  dirt,  etc., 
even  if  in  a  small  quantity,  as  a  lump  or  two,  remove  them  with 
the  finger-nail,  as  these  places  will  show  after  they  are  mounted, 
and  spoil  the  looks  of  the  work. 

Dry  these  large  prints  in  a  suitable  size  book,  kept  for  the  pur¬ 
pose,  and  under  a  sheet  of  blotting-paper,  and  when  they  have 
been  there  an  hour  remove  to  another  place  of  the  book,  under 
fresh  and  dry  blotting-paper. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

FINISHING  THE  PRINTS. 

When  the  prints  are  mounted,  all  spots  are  to  be  touched  out, 
and  the  high-lights  in  the  eyes,  etc.,  are  to  be  placed  in,  as  will 
be  presently  shown.  It  is  not  at  all  necessary  to  wait  until  the 
cards  are  dry  to  do  this,  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  perhaps  better 
to  touch  the  spots  out  while  the  cards  are  damp,  so  that  if  an 


132 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


ordinary  roller  is  used  the  prints  can  be  rolled  while  a  little 
damp,  and  a  better  polish  is  thus  secured. 

When  the  beginner  commences  this  work  on  the  prints,  he  will 
then,  if  not  before,  see  the  importance  of  thoroughly  dusting  the 
negatives  while  printing,  as  the  neglect  of  it  will  here  occasion 
him  considerable  trouble,  as  well  as  the  final  result  not  being  so 
nice  as  it  would  be  if  there  were  no  such  places  to  be  touched 
out. 

It  is  on  account  of  the  unnecessary  trouble  occasioned  in  the 
touching  out  of  these  spots  that  I  have,  in  a  previous  chapter, 
recommended  not  to  “touch  out  holes”  in  the  film  any  larger 
than  is  necessary,  and  also  where  there  are  scratches,  whether 
large  or  small,  to  print  the  negative  either  under  one  or  two 
ground-glasses,  and  even  sometimes  a  tissue-paper,  so  that  such 
places  will  not  show  any  more  in  the  resulting  print  than  what  is 
really  necessary. 

A  good  printer  will  assist  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  do  the 
mounting  and  finishing  of  the  prints  as  much  as  it  is  in  his  power, 
as  well  as  the  position  artist,  operator,  or  chemical  manipulator 
tries  to  assist  him  (the  printer).  A  very  noted  New  York  pho¬ 
tographer  once  said  to  me  : 

“  In  my  gallery,  the  object  of  those  in  each  department  is  to 
assist  each  other  as  much  as  lies  in  their  power,  by  doing  their 
work  so  that  they  will  not  have  to  rely  upon  the  person  or  persons 
whose  duty  it  is  to  do  the  next  in  routine  to  cover  up  their  de¬ 
fects;  for  there  is  always  enough  of  their  own  work  to  do,  without 
doing  any  more  of  another’s  than  what  is  absolutely  necessary.” 

Any  good  brush,  of  a  suitable  size  and  with  a  good  point,  will 
answer  for  this  purpose.  In  the  mixing  of  the  colors,  which 
should  be  done  every  day,  proper  attention  should  be  given  to 
obtaining  the  same  tint,  as  the  tone  of  the  print  indicates  to  you, 
so  that  the  touched-out  places  will  have  the  same  appearance  as 
the  rest  of  the  print.  Water  colors  are  used,  India-ink,  yellow 
and  red  colors  predominating  in  the  mixing,  according  to  the 
tone  you  desire,  which  is  generally  of  a  reddish  tint. 

In  applying  the  color  to  the  prints  as  it  is  now,  they  will  dry 
dull,  and  when  looked  at  obliquely  these  dull  spots  will  show 
badly,  on  account  of  there  being  a  glaze  to  the  print  everywhere 
except  where  this  color  is  applied.  To  obviate  this,  a  liquid 


FINISHING  THE  PRINTS. 


133 


solution  of  gum  arabic  (made  by  dissolving  the  gum  in  as  little 
water  as  possible)  is  mixed  with  the  colors  in  such  abundance  as 
to  give  a  good  gloss  to  the  prints  when  they  are  touched. 

More  often,  instead  of  dissolving  the  gum  arabic  as  described 
above,  a  lump  of  the  pure  gum  is  wetted  with  the  tongue  and 
rubbed  through  and  through  the  mixed  color,  and  the  remainder 
of  the  lump  is  stuck  to  the  palette  upon  which  the  color  is  to  be 
mixed.  In  touching  out,  in  case  the  color  after  awhile  shows 
no  signs  of  the  arabic,  then  first  rub  the  wet  point  of  the  brush 
on  the  lump  of  arabic,  and  then  take  up  some  of  the  color  and 
proceed  to  touch  out  the  spots  as  before.  The  use  of  the  arabic 
makes  the  color  a  trifle  more  difficult  to  take  to  the  prints,  but 
after  awhile  you  will  not  notice  it.  A  glass  of  clean  water  should 
be  near  at  hand  for  you  to  wet  your  brush  in  and  to  cleanse  it 
when  necessary.  The  beginner,  in  touching  out  with  the  brush 
and  color,  should  be  careful  and  not  touch  too  heavy  as  well  as 
too  light,  and  never  leave  a  spot  unless  the  color  applied  gives 
the  same  dark  tint  as  the  surrounding  places,  and  he  should  not 
touch  out  a  larger  spot  than  what  the  spot  really  is.  A  little  ex¬ 
perience  will  tell  him  what  is  to  be  touched  out,  and  what  is  not. 

All  dirt  spots  (/.<?.,  light  spots  on  the  prints  which  are  usually 
caused  by  dirt  adhering  to  the  varnish  of  the  negative)  should  be 
touched  out  wherever  they  occur.  The  most  noticeable  places 
are  in  the  draperies,  face,  background,  etc. 

The  uneveness,  if  there  is  any,  of  the  retouching  should  also  be 
attended  to,  i. e. ,  those  parts  on  some  parts  of  the  face  which  are 
lighter  than  the  surrounding  parts,  caused  by  the  pencil  of  the 
retoucher  taking  too  heavily. 

I  mentioned  above  about  placing  the  high-lights  in  the  eyes, 
and  as  the  beginner  may  not  know  what  I  mean  by  it,  I  will  here 
explain. 

In  many  prints  the  eyes,  owing  either  to  the  carelessness  or 
ignorance  of  the  operator,  have  no  high-lights  in  them,  and  when 
such  is  the  case  they  should  be  placed  in  each  eye,  at  the  proper 
place,  by  the  brush,  upon  which  a  little  white  paint  (water  color) 
is  dissolved. 

The  greatest  experience  is  required  to  do  this  as  it  should  be 
done,  and  the  apprentice  should  never  attempt  it  on  his  own  re¬ 
sponsibility  until  he  has  been  thoroughly  taught  how  and  where 

12 


134 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


they  should  be  placed.  In  many  cases  the  high-lights  should  in 
a  measure  be  touched  out,  and  all  other  reflected  lights  should  be 
removed. 

A  common  lead  pencil  of  a  medium  grade  of  hardness  is  used 
for  the  purpose  of  modelling  the  face,  as  well  as  touching  out  the 
slight  spots  that  are  in  the  face,  draperies,  etc.,  whether  oc¬ 
casioned  by  the  retoucher  in  touching  the  negative,  or  by  the 
printer  in  printing  them. 

The  Siberian  Graphite,  No.  2,  H.  B.  pencil,  I  have  used  with 
very  good  results. 

A  good  not  too  sharp  point  is  made,  and  a  slight  touch  of  it 
will  very  neatly  touch  out  the  thin  and  long  dirt  spots,  and  in 
modelling,  both  in  the  lights  and  shades,  it  is  capital.  There 
will  not  be  enough  difference  in  the  tone  of  the  pencil-mark  and 
the  color  of  the  prints  to  cause  any  attention  from  this  source, 
unless  the  places  are  larger  than  the  head  of  a  common  pin.  The 
pencil  very  often  reaches  places  more  easily,  and  can  be  used 
quicker  than  a  brush,  therefore,  it  is  used  considerably,  when  it 
can  be,  with  good  results.  For  diving  in  between  the  shadows 
in  the  cheeks,  and  filling  them  up  (not  too  much),  and  touching 
out  those  dirt  spots  which  may  happen  to  show  on  the  high-lights, 
and  in  all  places  where  only  a  very  slight  touch  is  required,  the 
pencil  is  much  better  than  the  brush,  as  it  will  make  a  much 
better  mark. 

To  ease  the  eyes  in  touching  out  the  minute  spots  a  large  mag¬ 
nifying-glass  is  placed  conveniently  in  a  sort  of  a  vise,  by  means 
of  a  suitable  rod  which  is  attached  to  the  glass. 

This  glass  is  placed  at  some  six  inches  from  the  prints,  and  the 
person  touching  out  can  not  only  do  the  work  better,  but  the  try¬ 
ing  of  the  eyes  is  in  a  great  measure  prevented. 

A  little  flesh-wash  is  given  to  the  cheeks  and  lips  of  the  ladies 
and  children  with  good  effects. 


ROLLING  THE  PRINTS. 

The  prints,  after  they  are  properly  “spotted,”  are  ready  to  be 
rolled,  which  should  be  done  at  the  time  when  they  are  slightly 
damp,  as  a  better  polish  is  then  given  to  them. 


FINISHING  THE  PRINTS. 


135 


There  are  a  number  of  presses  in  use  which  are  generally  good. 
A  nickel-plating  is  given  to  many  presses,  because  it  prevents  their 
rusting. 

The  press,  before  use,  should  be  thoroughly  cleansed  with  a 
piece  of  cotton-flannel  and  a  little  common  alcohol. 

When  not  in  use  always  keep  the  presses  covered.  About  once 
a  week  they  should  be  thoroughly  cleansed  and  oiled  with  a  drop 
or  two  of  sweet  oil. 

When  the  press  is  cleaned  the  prints  are,  one  at  a  time,  to  be 
placed  in  between  the  rollers,  either  face  up  or  face  down,  ac¬ 
cording  as  to  which  roller  is  the  polisher.  They  should  be  placed 
in  with  one  hand,  while  with  the  other  the  crank  is  turned.  The 
pressure  at  the  press  should  not  be  so  heavy  that  the  operator  at 
it  will  experience  any  difficulty  whatever  in  turning  the  crank  with 
one  hand,  while  the  press  is  fed  with  the  other. 

Do  not  stop  turning  the  crank  while  a  print  is  between  the  rollers, 
or  it  will  be  creased,  and  consequently  ruined. 

Roll  the  print  once  lengthwise,  and  then  twice  sideways,  and 
when  the  roller  has  taken  hold  of  the  card  on  the  one  side,  place 
your  hand  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  press  where  it  comes  out ; 
take  hold  of  the  card  when  it  appears,  and  bend  it  so  that  the 
back  will  bend  in  slightly,  and  thus  give  the  picture  the  look  of 
being  pressed  forward.  Bend  in  the  back  of  the  card  but  a  very 
little  however. 

Entrekin’s  Oscillating  Enameller  is  an  excellent  thing,  and 
should  be  used  more,  and  then  again  less ;  more  by  a  greater 
number  of  photographers,  less  in  obtaining  so  much  gloss,  which 
is  generally  overdone. 


WAXING  OF  THE  PRINTS. 

For  the  purpose  of  finding  the  best  thing  for  waxing  the  prints, 
I  have  at  the  expense  of  considerable  time  experimented,  and  I 
have,  I  think,  succeeded  in  finding  what  I  was  after;  and  although 
it  is  not  new,  yet  I  can  recommend  it  to  be  the  best — of  more 
than  a  score  of  kinds  of  pastes  that  I  have  made— -mainly  on  ac¬ 
count  of  its  cheapness,  and  simplicity  in  the  making. 

Marseilles  soap  is  most  generally  used  in  the  making  of  this 


136 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


paste,  and  for  those  who  may  wish  a  formula  containing  it  the  one 
below  will  be  found  to  be  excellent. 

Virgin  White  Wax,  .  .  .  .2  ounces. 

White  Marseilles  Soap,  .  .  .  .  “ 

Boiling  Water,  .  .  .  .  .  2  “ 

Cut  both  the  wax  and  soap  into  very  thin  slivers,  and  place  in 

a  clean  china  mug  containing  the  boiling  water,  and  place  the 
mug  with  its  contents  into  a  tin-pan  also  containing  boiling  water, 
the  whole  of  which  is  placed  on  a  hot  stove.  Add  the  wax  and 
soap,  a  portion  at  a  time,  until  all  are  dissolved. 

I  recommend  the  dissolving  of  the  soap  and  wax  in  small  quan¬ 
tities,  as  it  will  be  more  thoroughly  done. 

In  obtaining  Marseilles  soap  always  procure  the  white,  and 
never  the  spotted.  While  the  wax  and  soap  are  dissolving  stir 
thoroughly  with  a  clean  glass  rod.  This  paste,  when  made,  will 
have  the  consistency  of  “ cosmo line."  When  cooled  it  is  ready 
for  use,  and  should  be  applied  as  will  be  given  below.  A  few 
drops  either  of  the  essence  of  lavender,  cloves,  citronella,  rose¬ 
mary,  bergamot,  etc.,  may  be  added  to  give  an  agreeable1  odor  to 
the  paste. 

There  are  other  formulm  containing  benzole,  oil  of  spike,  gum 
elerni,  etc.,  in  various  proportions,  which  ingredients  being  a 
little  difficult  to  obtain,  and  to  prepare,  it  is  matter  of  consider¬ 
able  trouble  to  the  beginner,  consequently  I  will  not  place  them 
here. 

Out  of  all  the  different  kinds  of  paste  I  have  made,  I  have  set¬ 
tled  down  to  that  of  plain  wax  and  spirits  of  turpentine. 

It  is  made  as  follows  : 

White  wax  is  placed  in  a  common  clean  china  mug ;  which 
mug  is  placed,  as  above  described,  in  a  pan  containing  water, 
which  is  kept  at  a  boiling  state  by  being  placed  over  the  gas-stove. 

Dissolve  about  two  or  three  ounces  of  the  wax  in  the  mug,  and 
then  gradually  add  about  three-quarters  as  much  spirits  of  turpen¬ 
tine  as  there  is  dissolved  wax,  stirring  well  all  of  the  time,  and 
finally  add  of  some  essence — as  the  essence  of  bergamot — in 
quantity  sufficient  to  destroy  the  smell  of  the  spirits;  said  quantity 
being  about  half  an  ounce.  Stir  the  whole  thing  well. 

So  that  a  quantity  of  photographs  can  be  waxed  in  a  compara- 


FINISHING  THE  PRINTS. 


137 


tively  short  time,  I  made  a  couple  of  wooden  frames  (Fig.  43), 
one  for  the  small  carte,  and  another  for  the  Imperial. 

They  are  very  simple  in  construction,  being 
merely  a  suitable-size  piece  of  planed  pine  wood 
(upon  which  the  back  of  the  card  rests  while  wax¬ 
ing),  with  narrow  strips  of  wood  nailed  on  the  top, 
bottom,  and  on  one  side  of  them. 

The  prints  are  placed  in  these  frames  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  keeping  them  from  slipping  about.  In¬ 
stead  of  having  the  strips  AAA  fastened  to  the 
main  board,  as  it  is  in  Fig.  43,  they  (the  strips)  can 
be  movable,  and  fastened  to  the  print  when  necessary  by  means 
of  a  thumb-screw. 

By  the  aid  of  these  frames  I  have  thoroughly  waxed  one  hun¬ 
dred  cartes  de  visits  photographs  in  an  hour  and  a  quarter. 

This,  paste  should  be  applied  to  the  prints  by  placing  a  small 
quantity  on  the  hardest  (i.  e.,  the  unnapped)  side  of  some  can¬ 
ton  flannel,  and  rubbing  it  well  over  every  part  of  the  print,  and 
then  with  another  and  a  cleaner  piece  of  flannel,  the  surface  of 
the  print  is  rubbed  briskly  until  quite  dry,  and  then  the  final 
polish  is  given  by  using  the  soft  (napped)  side  of  the  same  piece. 

I  have  recommended  to  use  the  harder  side  of  the  flannel  first, 
because  if  the  other  is  used  before  the  greater  part  of  the  wax  is 
rubbed  dry  it  will  remove  the  stringy  cotton  stuff,  and  thus  it 
would  be  rubbed  in  the  wax  on  the  surface  of  the  print,  which 
will,  especially  when  looked  at  obliquely,  show  very  badly.  Rub¬ 
bing  quickly  will  give  a  most  marvellous  polish  to  the  prints,  es¬ 
pecially  if  it  has  previously  been  rolled,  and  assists  wonderfully 
in  bringing  out  detail  in  the  deep  shadows,  and  also  gives  a  fine 
effect  to  the  whole  print. 

Soiled  photographs  are  rendered  so  clean  by  the  use  of  this 
paste  that  they  will  look  like  fresh  ones. 

The  prints,  when  waxed,  should  be  allowed  to  remain  all  night, 
or  at  least  for  a  few  hours,  in  a  cool  and  thoroughly  clean  room. 


Fig.  43. 


✓ _ , 

Jl 

A 

.  .  A  • 

■C - 

12* 


Part  II. 


PLAIN  PAPER  PRINTING. 


CHAPTER  I. 


SALTING  THE  PAPER. 


To  be  sure  to  have  a  good  quality  of  paper  for  sensitizing,  we 
almost  invariably  salt  it  ourselves ;  and  as  it  is  not  at  all  difficult 
to  do,  we  should  advise  our  readers  to  do  it. 

When  the  printers  wish  to  salt  their  own  paper,  the  following 
formula  will  be  found  to  be  excellent : 


Pure  Rain-water, 

Chloride  of  Ammonium,  . 
Gelatin,  . 


60  ounces. 
360  grains. 
120  “ 


We  add  the  gelatin  to  the  solution,  as  it  gives  a  much  better 
surface  for  the  ink-worker  to  work  on.  Mix  in  a  large  wide- 
mouth  bottle,  in  which  the  sixty  ounces  of  water  is  first  placed. 
This  water  may  be  used  quite  warm  if  the  printer  is  in  a  hurry, 
as  the  chloride  will  be  dissolved  more  readily. 

The  gelatin  to  be  dissolved  is  placed  in  a  small  evaporating- 
dish,  and  a  small  quantity  of  water  (about  four  ounces)  is  taken 
from  the  sixty  ounces  in  the  bottle  and  added  to  it. 

The  dish  is  placed  on  a  hot  stove,  and  the  water  is  heated  to 
a  boiling  state.  When  this  gelatin  is  dissolved,  add  the  liquid 
to  the  bottle  containing  the  dissolved  chloride,  and  stir  very 
thoroughly,  either  with  a  clean  glass  rod,  or  by  repeated  shakings 
of  the  bottle.  Filter  the  solution,  when  it  has  cooled,  through  a 
couple  of  thicknesses  of  good  filtering-paper  into  another  wide- 
mouth  bottle.  Always  keep  the  bottle  covered  with  a  clean  glass 
when  not  in  use,  whether  it  has  the  solution  in  it  or  not. 


SALTING  THE  PAPER. 


139 


This  solution  should  always  be  filtered  again  immediately  after 
use. 

When  ready  to  salt  the  paper  we  obtain  a  suitable  size  dish — a 
half-size  porcelain  dish  will  do — and  thoroughly  clean  and  rinse  it. 

Pour  the  solution  in  the  dish,  and  if  there  are  any  bubbles 
formed  in  doing  so,  break  them. 

The  paper  can  either  be  floated  upon  or  drawn  through  the 
solution. 

If  floated,  examine  the  paper  thoroughly,  and  float  the  side 
that  has  the  finest  grain.  As  the  dish  is  a  half-size  one  the  paper 
will  have  to  be  floated  in  half  sheets  ;  but  when  floating  is  adopted, 
a  whole-size  dish  had  best  be  used.  Float  ten  seconds. 

If  you  prefer  to  draw  the  paper  through,  which  is  the  way  most 
generally  recommended  and  followed  out,  then  place  the  dish 
containing  the  solution  in  the  middle  of  the  room  firmly  set  upon 
a  sto®l,  and  where  there  will  be  plenty  of  elbow  room. 

Take  the  paper  by  the  two  opposite  corners,  place  it  behind 
the  further  side  of  the  dish,  and  permit  it  to  hang  suspended 
there. 

Now  draw  the  paper  slowly  over  the  side  of  the  dish,  curving 
and  diving  the  side  which  you  have  hold  of  beneath  the  surface 
of  the  solution.  Do  not  pause,  but  continue  drawing  the  paper 
over  the  side  of  the  dish  and  under  the  surface,  being  careful  that 
you  wet  all  parts  of  it,  and  then  hold  the  sheet  over  the  dish  by 
the  same  corners  which  were  taken  hold  of  in  the  first  place,  and 
allow  the  solution  to  drain  from  the  sheet  into  the  dish. 

The  most  important  part  of  this  simple  process  is  to.  get  the 
paper  under  the  solution  at  first  in  drawing  it  through,  and  to  do 
this  we  have  recommended  the  use  of  sixty  ounces  of  solution  in 
the  dish  (a  hundred  would  be  better  still),  as  the  paper  can  be 
drawn  under  better  than  it  could  with  a  less  quantity.  When 
drained  the  paper  should  be  hung  up  by  the  two  corners  in  a 
warm  room  to  dry.  Do  not  hang  up  to  dry,  plain  salted  and  sen¬ 
sitized  paper  by  the  same  pins. 

The  air  should  be  absolutely  free  from  all  dust  in  the  drying- 
room  while  the  paper  is  drying.  This  solution  can  be  used  re¬ 
peatedly;  the  bubbles  should  be  removed  from  the  solution  every 
time  they  appear.  These  bubbles  are  caused  principally  by  the 
dripping  of  the  solution  into  the  dish,  when  the  sheet  of  freshly 


140 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


salted  paper  is  suspended  over  it.  The  forming  of  these  bubbles 
can,  in  a  great  measure,  be  avoided  if  the  sheet  had  its  lower 
corner  in  the  dish,  and  besides  draining  as  well  as  before,  there 
will  not  be  any  drops  that  will  fall  any  distance  from  the  sheet, 
so  as  to  occasion  the  bubbles. 

If  after  salting,  and  while  the  paper  is  draining,  there  should 
be  seen  any  bubbles  on  the  paper,  blow  at  them,  and  break  them 
as  soon  as  possible.  After  you  are  through  using  the  solution 
pour  it  back  in  a  bottle,  and  filter  it  into  its  former  receptacle. 

Clean  thoroughly  the  dish,  and  set  it  away,  bottom  side  up,  on 
some  clean  paper. 

Such  is  our  mode  of  salting,  which  we  always  find  productive 
of  excellent  results. 


CHAPTER  II. 

POSITIVE  BATHS  FOR  PLAIN  SALTED  PAPER. 

The  paper  when  salted  and  dried  is  ready  to  be  sensitized.  A 
different  bath  is  most  generally  used  for  the  plain  paper,  as  will 
be  explained  further  on. 

A  plain  bath  of  nitrate  of  silver,  forty  grains  strong  to  the 
ounce  of  water,  can  be  used  ;  such  a  bath  being  very  strongly 
recommended  by  many  of  our  first-class  photographers  as  the 
very  best  for  plain  paper  use.  It  is  most  assuredly  excellent. 
For  plain  paper  a  plain  nitrate  of  silver  bath — thirty  grains  of 
nitrate  of  silver,  water  one  ounce — is  the  best. 

Then,  again,  the  ammonio-nitrate  bath  is  very  often  used.  It 
is  made  as  follows : 

Make  up  sixty  ounces  of  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver  so  that  it 
will  be  forty  grains  strong  of  the  silver  to  the  ounce  of  water. 
Take  two-thirds  of  this  solution  (forty  ounces),  and  add  aqua 
ammonia  to  it  until  it  has  become  clear  after  it  has  once  become 
muddy.  While  adding  this  ammonia,  add  a  few  drops  of  it  at  a 
time,  stirring  well  after  each  addition.  Now  add  the  remaining 
one-third  to  the  two-thirds,  stir  well,  and  filter  before  use. 

When  the  paper  does  not  foul  the  solution  the  albumen  silver- 


SILVERING  PLAIN  SALTED  PAPER. 


141 


bath  is  used  by  a  very  great  many  photographers,  and  it  is  floated 
upon  it  in  the  same  way  as  the  albumen  paper.  Although  it  does 
not  seem  to  hurt  the  bath  for  albumen  paper  in  some  cases,  yet 
the  plain  paper  undoubtedly  discolors  the  bath  quicker  and 
deeper,  and  is  likely  in  time  to  get  many  impurities  in  it  that 
will  after  awhile  hurt  the  albumen  paper.  For  this  reason  we 
have  always  been  in  favor  of  a  different  solution  for  the  plain 
paper,  and  always  use  such,  whether  we  float  or  swab  our  paper, 
as  then  if  we  should  prefer  at  any  time  to  float  our  paper  we  can 
do  so.  We  should  advise  the  beginner  to  use  a  different  bath 
for  the  plain  paper  until  he  had  experience  enough  to  observe 
the  effects  of  floating  plain  paper  on  the  albumen  paper  bath. 

The  care  of  this  bath  is  the  same  as  it  is  in  the  case  of  the 
albumen  paper  bath.  (See  Chapter  I,  Part  I.) 


CHAPTER  III. 

SILVERING  PLAIN  SALTED  PAPER. 

There  are  two  ways  of  silvering  the  paper,  which  are  about 
equally  in  favor.  The  first  of  these,  floating,  we  will  here  men¬ 
tion. 

This  floating  is  done  in  the  same  way  as  the  floating  of  the 
albumen  paper,  and,  as  is  the  case  with  the  latter,  there  is  also  a 
certain  side  of  the  paper  that  is  to  be  floated  on  the  solution. 

This  side  is  the  finest  grained  side  of  the  two,  and  to  determine 
which  is  the  one,  take  the  paper  over  to  the  light,  and  by  com¬ 
paring  closely  the  two  it  can  easily  be  told.  The  reason  why 
the  finest  side  is  used  is  because  the  resulting  print  will  be  finer, 
and  then  again,  commercial  salted  paper  is  often  salted  only  on 
this  side.  The  time  the  paper  is  to  be  floated  is  easily  learned 
by  observing  the  results  of  differently  timed  pieces  of  the  same 
sheet  of  paper. 

It  is  a  good  plan  for  the  beginner  to  cut  a  sheet  of  plain  salted 
paper  into  four  equal  parts,  i.e.,  quarter  it,  and  mark  on  the  back 
of  one  fifteen  seconds,  and  on  the  others  respectively  twenty-five 


142 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


seconds,  thirty-five  seconds,  and  forty-five  seconds,  and  float 
them  separately  for  the  exact  time  designated  on  the  back  of  each. 
Commence  to  time  each  one  of  these  pieces  when  the  paper  has 
thoroughly  become  flattened  after  it  was  breathed  upon  to  prevent 
it  from  curling  over.  Dry  thoroughly,  and  fume  them  all  the 
t  same  length  of  time,  not  less  than  eight  or  ten  minutes.  If  the 
ammonio-nitrate  bath  is  used,  far  less  fuming  is  required. 

Print  in  the  same  quality  of  light,  under  the  same  negative,  and 
to  the  same  depth.  Compare  the  result,  and  float  the  rest  of  the 
paper  for  the  time  specified  on  the  back  of  the  print  which  gave 
the  best  result  of  the  four  pieces. 

The  above  is  probably  the  best  way  for  the  beginner  to  learn, 
and  after  he  has  once  learned  it,  he  can  in  the  future  tell  very 
nearly  how  long  the  paper  should  be  floated,  making  allowance 
for  the  quality  of  the  negatives,  temperature,  light,  etc. 

In  judging  of  the  quality  of  the  printed  plain  paper,  so  as  to 
decide  which  is  the  best,  there  are  a  few  things  which  we  will 
mention,  that  will,  we  think,  guide  the  beginner  a  little. 

If  the  negative  is  a  fair  one  (which  is  about  the  one  you  should 
use  in  trying  the  paper),  and  the  resulting  print  is  “mealy” — 
which  mealiness  consists  in  the  presence  of  spots  of  various  sizes, 
and  also  of  a  flat  reddish  color — then  the  time  of  silvering  is 
evidently  not  what  we  desire.  These  spots  show  more  plainly  in 
the  shadows  and  draperies.  If  the  resulting  print  is  as  just  de¬ 
scribed,  then  the  paper  has  not  been  floated  long  enough.  This 
mealiness  can  be  very  distinctly  seen  by  holding  the  print  between 
you  and  the  light.  The  back  of  such  paper  remains  as  white  as 
it  was  before  it  was  sensitized,  never  being  discolored  while 
printing  on  account  of  the  heat,  but  only  on  account  of  its  being 
improperly  exposed  to  the  light. 

Then  again,  if  the  paper  is  silvered  or  floated  for  too  long  a 
time,  it  will  not  have  the  reddish  spots  in  the  shadows,  etc., 
neither  will  it  be  white  on  the  back  (for  the  heat  of  the  sun  will 
discolor  it),  but  the  paper  will  have  a  smutty  appearance,  as 
though  the  backs  of  the  prints  had  been  exposed  for  a  few  seconds, 
to  the  strong  diffused  light,  and  thus  discolored.  Now  examine 
the  face  of  the  two  prints  once  more,  and  you  will  observe  that 
the  long-silvered  paper  will  have  a  sunken-in  appearance.  This 
sunken-in  appearance  will,  in  a  great  measure,  disappear  in  the 


SILVERING  PLAIN  SALTED  PAPER. 


143 


final  operations  of  the  printer,  but  that  is  not  the  object,  for  the 
object  is  to  get  it  so  that  it  will  be  all  right  when  it  is  just  printed, 
and  before  it  is  toned. 

We  do  not  mean  to  say,  however,  that  the  above-specified  dif¬ 
ference  of  time  given  for  floating  different  pieces  of  the  same  sheet 
of  paper  will  give  all  of  the  above-given  results,  for  in  the  case  of 
long  floating,  which  gives  the  appearance  of  the  sunken-in  print, 
the  paper  will  have  to  be  floated  a  minute  or  so  to  give  this  result. 

The  writer  remembers  one  time  of  having  occasion  to  use  some 
plain  paper  in  a  strange  gallery.  As  he  had  to  use  the  paper 
that  day,  and  being  very  busy  with  his  other  prints,  he  did  not 
have  the  time  to  salt  some  for  use,  and  upon  finding  some  plain 
paper  (which  was  not  marked),  he  thought  that  he  would  use  that, 
after  having  applied  his  tongue  to  the  corner,  and  knowing  that 
it  had  been  salted.  There  were  only  two  sheets  of  the  paper  on 
hand,  and  as  he  wished  a  full  sheet,  and  being  in  a  hurry,  he  did 
not  wish  to  silver  it  either  too  long  or  too  short  a  time,  but  as  he 
suspected  it  was  some  of  Clemons’s,  he  thought  that  he  would 
float  it  twenty  seconds,  especially  after  having  asked  the  employer 
about  how  long  he  thought  Mr.  S.,  the  former  printer,  had  silvered 
his  plain  paper,  and  although  he  could  not  tell  for  certain,  yet 
he  thought  that  it  was  about  that  time.  He  floated  it  twenty  sec¬ 
onds,  and  after  having  fumed  it,  he  placed  it  out  to  print,  and 
upon  looking  at  it  next  time  he  found  that  the  print 
presented  a  funny  appearance,  familiar  to  the  ex¬ 
perienced  printer,  but  to  the  beginner  it  may  not 
be  so  (Fig.  44). 

The  paper  printed  in  spots,  i.  e.,  some  parts  of 
it  would  print,  and  then  again  some  parts  had  not 
shown  the  least  signs  of  printing.  Each  of  these 
dark  and  white  spots  were  about  the  size  of  a  pea. 

I  floated  the  other  sheet  full  thirty-five  seconds,  and  I  had  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  I  had  as  finely  printing  plain  paper 
as  ever  I  saw. 

Plain  paper,  when  floated  too  long  a  time,  will  turn  yellow  in 
a  short  time,  as  for  instance  remaining  over  night,  even  in  the 
month  of  October. 

Paper  floated  just  right  will  keep  two  or  even  three  days  in  ex¬ 
cellent  condition,  even  if  the  month  is  that  of  October. 


Fig.  44. 


144 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


The  other  way  to  sensitize  plain  salted  paper  is  that  which  is 
known  by  the  name  of  “swabbing  the  paper.” 

Paper  which  is  sensitized  in  this  way  turns  yellow  very  quickly, 
so  very  much  so  that  it  is  necessary  in  summer  to  delay  silvering 
it  until  you  will  have  time  to  print  it  up  immediately,  i.  e.,  as 
soon  as  it  is  dried  and  fumed,  as  letting  it  remain  for  two  or  three 
hours  before  use  will  often  discolor  it  like  unto  saffron.  This 
can  in  a  measure  be  avoided  by  placing  the  dark-box  containing 
it  in  as  cool  a  place  as  possible.  The  silver  solution  is  more  ab¬ 
sorbed  by  the  paper  by  this  mode  of  treatment  than  by  floating, 
and  consequently  the  heat  affects  it  more. 

The  swab  is  made  as  follows  :  Obtain  a  piece  of  wood  about 
four  inches  long,  one  inch  wide,  and  one  inch  in  thickness.  Take 
two  or  three  square  pieces  of  canton  flannel,  size  four  by  four 
inches,  and  cover  this  block  with  it,  having  the  napped  side  of 
the  flannel  out.  This  will  give  a  soft  cushion  to  rub  the  paper 
with.  (Examine  Figs.  45  and  46). 


Fig.  46. 


Fig.  45. 


To  prevent  the  stringy  fibre  from  being  left  on  the  paper  while 
sensitizing  it,  I  am  in  the  habit  of  snapping  well  each  piece  of 
the  flannel  before  fastening  it  to  the  block,  to  get  rid  of  the  loose 
cotton. 

Fig.  47.  The  fine  side  of  the  paper  is  placed  uppermost  on  a 
suitable  size  board  ;  this  board  is  covered  with  clean  white  blot- 


Fig.  47. 

A 


A 


ting  paper,  which  presents  a  clean  surface  to  the  back  of  the  paper. 
This  board  only  needs  to  be  an  inch  or  two  longer  and  wider 


DRYING,  FUMING,  AND  CUTTING  THE  PAPER.  145 


than  the  sheet  of  paper,  and  when  not  in  use  it  can  be  used  as  a 
covering  for  the  whole-size  silvering-dish,  in  which  the  printing- 
bath  is  kept  during  the  day. 

The  plain  paper  should  be  tacked  to  the  board  by  galvanized 
iron  tacks,  and  not  with  the  common  carpet  tacks,  for  the  silver 
touching  them  will  invariably  cause  a  stain  across  the  paper,  run¬ 
ning  from  the  corner  where  the  silver  has  touched  the  tack. 

About  a  couple  of  ounces  of  the  silver  solution  is  filtered  in  a 
small  vial,  and  this  vial  is  taken  in  the  left  hand,  and  the  swab 
fixed  conveniently  in  the  right. 

Now  pour  a  small  stream  of  the  solution  across  the  width,  from 
A  to  A  (Fig.  47),  and  immediately  attack  it  with  the  swab,  and 
distribute  evenly  the  solution  over  all  parts  of  the  paper  until  it 
has  taken  the  liquid  up. 

By  drawing  the  swab  evenly  from  left  to  right,  anti  then  from 
right  to  left,  coming  at  times  nearer,  and  then  proceeding  from 
you,  you  will  thus  distribute  it  equally  over  the  surface.  In  the 
pouring  on  of  the  solution,  try  to  regulate  the  quantity  of  liquid 
so  that  just  enough  will  be  poured  on  at  one  time;  a  half  ounce 
being  about  what  is  needed. 

Fresh  canton  flannel  should  be  used  every  day,  but  the  flannel 
used  in  the  morning  will  answer  for  the  rest  of  the  day’s  use. 
Canton  flannel  that  has  been  used  repeatedly  is  bad. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DRYING,  FUMING,  AND  CUTTING  THE  PAPER. 

DRYING. 

The  paper,  after  it  is  floated  or  swabbed,  as  the  case  may  be,  is 
then  hung  up  in  a  small  room,  by  two  of  the  corners,  to  dry.  This 
room  is  generally  heated  by  a  small  gas  stove,  a  small  jet  of  gas 
doing  the  work  in  a  very  short  time. 

To  save  the  few  drops  of  silver  solution  which  fall  from  the 
paper,  lay  some  sheets  of  bibulous  paper  on  the  floor  directly 
under  each  sheet. 


13 


146 


THE  PRACTICAL  PR  IS  TER. 


FUMING. 

When  thoroughly  dried,  the  paper  is  ready  to  be  fumed.  The 
time  of  fuming  is  generally  from  ten  to  fifteen  minutes. 

In  fuming  plain  paper,  fume  it  long  enough  to  print  blue,  and 
neither  red  nor  brown,  as  it  will  print  stronger  by  so  doing.  In 
fuming  plain  paper  a  much  less  time  is  required  to  reach  this  blue 
state  than  is  the  case  with  albumen  paper. 


CUTTING. 


It  is  f^ery  seldom  that  any  pieces  smaller  than  a  4-4  is  cut,  as  the 
ordinary  4-4  copy  is  generally  the  smallest  ink-print  that  is  made. 
An  ordinary  ivory  paper-cutter  can  be  used  for  this  purpose. 

In  cutting  the  paper  take  the  sheet  and  lay  the  length  before 
you  in  the  drawer,  the  width  thus  running  from  left  to  right. 

Fig.  48.  Now  bend  the  paper  over  to  A,  and  crease  it  at  B, 
and  then  cut  the  paper  at  this  crease  with  the  ivory  knife.  Di- 


Fig.  48. 


Fig.  49. 


vide  the  remaining  two-thirds  equally,  and  then  the  length  01 
each  of  the  three  narrow  strips  is  divided  into  two  equal  pieces, 
and  thus  you  will  have  six  4-4’s  of  an  equal  size,  which  will  be 
plenty  large  enough  for  the  desired  purpose. 

When  I  wish  to  obtain  the  next  size,  iox  12,  I  ^ake  a  quarter 
of  a  whole  sheet  of  the  plain  paper. 

Fig.  49.  To  obtain  the  next  size,  n  x  14,  I  lay  the  length  of 
the  sheet  before  me,  as  I  do  in  obtaining  4-4’s,  and  bend  over 
the  sheet  until  the  edge  of  the  paper  which  was  nearest  to  me 
comes  within  about  three-quarters  of  an  inch  of  its  opposite  side. 

The  largest  of  these  two  pieces  I  use  for  the  11x14,  as  there 
will  be  plenty  of  room  by  so  doing  to  guard  against  the  paper 
being  a  little  too  narrow  when  the  mat  is  placed  over  it. 


TREATMENT  OF  NEGATIVES  BEFORE  PRINTING.  147 


When  I  desire  14  x  17  pieces  I  bend  over  as  in  4-4’s,  and  take 
the  two-thirds  of  the  sheet.  For  anything  larger  I  use  the  whole 
sheet. 

Always,  when  about  to  cut  your  paper,  be  sure  that  your  hands, 
as  well  as  shears  and  ivory  paper-cutter,  are  thoroughly  free  from 
grease,  or  anything  that  will  discolor  the  paper. 

Keep  the  paper  in  a  dark  and  cool  place  before  and  after  cut¬ 
ting,  and  while  cutting  it  do  not  let  any  white  light  fall  upon  it. 


CHAPTER  V. 

TREATMENT  OF  THE  NEGATIVES  BEFORE  PRINTING. 

It  is  often  thought  by  the  printers,  even  those  who  have  printed 
for  years,  that  in  plain-paper  printing  there  is  no  trouble  what¬ 
ever,  as  they  have  got  to  be  worked  up  by  the  finisher,  and  as 
they  are  copies  the  result  will  be  as  good  as  the  customers  have  a 
right  to  expect.  That  person  is  on  the  wrong  track. 

There  are  a  multitude  of  things  to  be  done  in  printing  copies 
which  are  often  very  troublesome.  Unfortunately  in  many  gal¬ 
leries  the  photographer  is  not  paid  as  he  should  be  to  obtain  the 
best  results  from  the  copies,  when  the  time  alone  which  should  be 
occupied  by  the  printer  and  ink-worker  will  come  to  about  what 
he  asks  for  his  work,  and  then  where  is  the  profit  to  come  from 
for  his  and  his  assistant’s  time? 

Now  the  better  the  prints  the  printer  obtains  from  his  nega¬ 
tives,  the  better  will  the  result  be  when  worked  up,  because  then 
the  finisher’s  work  can  be  better  done. 

Let  us  suppose  that  two  printers  have  each  a  plain-paper  print 
to  print  from  the  same  negative,  each  one  not  being  permitted  to 
see  the  print  of  the  other  until  they  are  ready  to  be  toned. 

One  of  these  printers  takes  up  the  negative,  looks  through  it, 
touches  out  the  pinholes,  if  there  are  any,  and  prints  it ;  under 
the  negative  a  piece  of  paper  is  placed,  without  any  special  notice 
having  been  given  to  it,  to  see  as  to  whether  it  is  excellent  or 
not ;  his  print  is  printed  and  placed  away  until  toning-time. 

This  printer  passes  the  negative  to  the  other  printer,  who  also 


148 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


looks  through  it,  and  touches  out  the  pinholes  which  the  former 
printer  of  the  negative  removed  when  he  was  through  with  it. 

But  this  printer  does  not  stop  here ;  he  observes  the  heavy 
shadows  which  will  print  black  without  any  detail  whatever 
(making  it  an  impossible  task  for  the  finisher  to  finish  them  up 
as  they  should  be),  and  proceeds  to  remove  them  in  a  measure ; 
i.  e.,  he  lightens  them,  so  that  they  will  not  be  so  dark  as  they 
would  be  if  this  was  not  done,  and  consequently  better  results 
are  obtainable  by  the  artist.  He  notices  then  that  the  face, 
hands,  and  arms  are  flat,  and  the  last-mentioned  limbs  are  also 
very  dark.  He  cares  this  flatness  in  a  measure,  and  makes  the 
hands  and  arms  white.  Besides  the  above,  he  notices  that  other 
parts  of  the  negatives  can  be  improved,  and  he  proceeds  to  do  it. 

Examine  the  two  prints:  what  a  difference  there  will  be  be¬ 
tween  the  two ;  but  let  us  not  stop  here,  but  have  them  toned, 
etc.,  and  finished  up  by  the  same  artist,  having  previously  marked 
the  names  of  the  printers  on  the  back  of  the  mounts  of  their  re¬ 
spective  prints.  Now  compare  the  two  ! 

In  one  print  the  shadows,  especially  those  under  the  eyebrows 
and  chin,  are  very  black,  without  the  least  signs  of  detail,  look¬ 
ing  Very  much  like  a  smutch  of  lampblack,  and  the  face,  in  spite 
of  all  the  efforts  of  the  finisher,  is  flat,  while  the  hands  and  arms 
are  hideously  black. 

The  other  print  is  exactly  the  reverse ;  the  shadows  are  as  they 
should  be,  the  face  is  bold  (in  comparison),  the  hands  and  arms 
look  like  the  hands  and  arms  of  a  white  person  rather  than  those 
of  a  darkey,  as  the  other  print  would  lead  us  to  take  the  picture  to 
be,  and  in  fact  this  whole  print  is  very  much  better  than  the  other. 

The  better  the  print  is,  the  better  result  can  be  obtained  by 
the  finishing  artist. 

Having  given  the  beginner  an  idea  as  to  the  importance  of 
printing  from  copy  negatives,  I  will  pass  on,  and  tell  what  is  to 
be  “doctored,”  and  how  it  should  be  done. 

SHADOWS. 

We  will  first  consider  the  heavy  shadows  in  these  negatives. 

It  is  known  by  all  photographers  that  such  shadows,  if  there 
are  any,  are  generally  very  heavy,  and  they  should  always  be  re¬ 
moved  in  a  great  measure. 


TREATMENT  OF  NEGATIVES  BEFORE  PRINTING.  149 


( I  will  here  mention  that  the  beginner  should  always  be  on  his 
guard  in  “doctoring”  the  negative,  so  that  he  will  not  overdo  it.) 

These  shadows  are  found  more  or  less  under  the  eyebrows,  and 
often  in  the  forehead,  which  will  look  like  a  deep  depression. 

They  are  also  found  sometimes  under  the  eyes,  in  the  cheeks, 
and  a  whole  side  of  the  face  often  being  very  black.  They  are 
also  found  very  slightly  under  the  nose,  and  under  the  chin,  the 
latter  place  being  the  place  where  the  heaviest  shadows  are  gen¬ 
erally  found.  Such  shadows  are  also  found  in  the  receding  ear 
(the  whole  ear  sometimes  being  very  black),  also  on  the  hands 
and  arms.  They  may  be  removed  by  the  use  of  the  “everlast¬ 
ing  blue-paint  dodge,”  which  has  been  so  very  often  spoken  of  in 
the  first  part  of  this  book. 

HEAVY  LINES. 

There  are  often  heavy  lines  in  the  forehead,  running  parallel 
to  each  other  and  parallel  to  the  line  of  the  eyes.  There  are 
also  some  few  between  the  eyes,  running  far  into  the  forehead, 
and  crossing  the  others. 

There  are  also  some  found  running  from  both  sides  of  the  nose 
to  the  corners  of  the  mouth,  and  in  the  case  of  elderly  persons 
from  that  place  (the  mouth)  to  the  lower  parts  of  the  chin. 
There  are  lines  oftentimes  in  the  neck,  especially  so  when  the 
neck  is  bony,  caused  by  the  head  being  turned  away  from  the 
body  in  a  forced  and  stiff  position. 

The  way  to  get  rid  of  such  is  to  take  the  negative  to  the  re¬ 
toucher  and  get  him  to  remove  (or  do  it  yourself)  the  greater 
part  of  them.  Be  careful  not  to  overdo  this,  but  leave  something, 
in  fact  considerable,  for  the  finisher  to  work  at. 

The  face,  and  sometimes  the  hands  and  arms,  have  lines  in 
them  which  have  not  been  mentioned,  as  in  the  latter  case,  dark 
lines  caused  by  large  veins,  and  consequently  other  places,  be¬ 
sides  what  I  have  named  above,  should  be  sought  after,  and 
attended  to. 

FLATNESS. 

This  is  the  most  difficult  of  all,  and  very  often  the  finisher  had 
rather  have  the  printer  let  it  alone  than  for  him  to  attempt  to 
prevent  flatness,  and  make  a  botch  of  it.  This  flatness  is  often 
found  in  the  whole  face,  and  in  the  hands  and  arms. 

13* 


150 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


When  you  desire  to  prevent  this  flatness,  take  it  to  the  retouch¬ 
ing-frame  and  work  up  those  places  which  you  desire  to  be  lighter, 
and  place  a  high-light  on  the  nose  to  make  it  stand  out  from  the 
face. 

To  prevent  flatness  to  the  face,  see  page  48. 

Often  a  thin  stripe  of  blue  paint  along  the  upper  part  of  and 
along  the  length  of  the  arms  is  excellent.  Print  such  negatives 
under  tissue-paper. 

I  have  known  cases  in  which  the  width  of  the  mouth  is  desired 
to  be  less ;  then  touch  out  with  opaque  (or  better  still,  with  a 
nearly  opaque  color,  a  heavy  application  of  vermilion  red  an¬ 
swering  well),  an  equal  space  on  each  side,  unless  one  side  above 
may  be  curved,  being  a  one-sided  smirk,  and  if  that  is  the  case, 
only  apply  the  color  on  that  side.  This  color  may  sometimes  be 
applied  to  the  back,  and  sometimes  to  the  face  of  the  negative, 
as  may  be  found  best. 

If  the  lips  are  too  thick,  take  off  a  portion  of  them  (/.<?.,  if  the 
parties  leaving  the  copies  request  the  photographer  to  do  it;  in 
fact,  any  of  the  things  that  I  have  above,  or  shall  below  name, 
that  depart  from  the  original  in  respect  to  likeness  should  never  be 
done  unless  orders  have  been  given  to  that  effect).  If  this  is 
taken  off  well,  then  the  finisher  will  have  an  easy  task  of  making 
the  lips  thinner,  by  making  the  curves  nearer  together.  The 
light  places  left  can  be  worked  up  to  obtain  the  same  tone  as  the 
rest  of  the  surrounding  flesh. 

Sometimes  there  are  cases  when  a  hat  or  bonnet  is  to  be  taken 
off,  and  when  that  is  so,  you  will  find  heavy  shadows  in  the  fore¬ 
head;  look  out  for  them. 

When  there  is  a  hat  to  be  taken  off,  then  print  a  proof  of  the 
negative  as  it  is ;  cut  in  exactly  close  to  the  figure,  and  when 
you  have  got  to  the  top  of  the  forehead,  and  where  the  hat  com¬ 
mences,  cut  right  close ,  but  under  the  hat.  Use  the  cut-out  (the 
outside  one)  for  placing  on  the  back  of  the  negative  (so  that  the 
thickness  of  the  glass  will  prevent  it  from  printing  a  sharp  line 
on  the  print  when  it  is  placed  under  a  diffused  light),  being  care¬ 
ful  that  you  get  it  on  as  it  should  be,  which,  if  you  do  well,  the 
resulting  print  win  oe  minus  the  hat,  also  the  upper  part  of  the 
head;  but  the  finisher  will  supply  the  deficiency  with  his  brush. 
It  would  be  a  good  thing  if  you  were  to  feather  it  off  gradually. 


PRINTING-IN  FALSE  BACKGROUNDS. 


151 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PRINTING-IN  FALSE  BACKGROUNDS. 

This  is  a  well-known  and  valuable  dodge  among  photographic 
printers.  It  is  worked  as  follows : 

First  print  a  proof  of  the  negative  as  it  is,  said  proof  being 
printed  on  a  piece  of  paper  full  as  large  as  the  desired  size  of  the 
finished  print. 

When  printed,  lay  the  proof  on  a  glass,  printed  side  up,  and 
with  a  very  sharp  knife  follow  the  figure  exactly  on  the  margin 
of  both  the  face  and  draperies.  Not  the  least  possible  variation 
should  be  made,  or  the  resulting  print  will  surely  show  it  No 
carelessness  will  answer  at  all  here;  in  fact,  every  particle  of  the 
printer’s  attention  should  be  given  to  his  work,  from  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  cutting  until  he  is  through.  Follow  the  nooks  and 
turns  of  the  draperies  and  hair,  cutting  out  each  curl  faithfully. 
Avoid  all  sharp  angles,  and  let  all  of  the  cutting  be  in  curves  when 
corners  are  turned,  and  more  or  less  wavering  when  following  the 
line  of  the  hair.  Particular  attention  should  be  given  when  cut¬ 
ting  in  around  the  face  and  neck ;  this  is  especially  the  case  in 
the  cutting  out  around  the  cheekbones.  If  the  printer  thinks  he 
can  improve  on  the  cutting  out  if  he  were  to  cut  another  print, 
then  print  another  one  and  do  so.  After  awhile  the  beginner 
will  succeed  splendidly. 

After  the  background  is  cut  out,  the  next  process  is  the  pasting 
it  on  the  back  of  the  glass,  which  process  is  one  of  extreme  care. 

Do  not,  in  pasting  it  on,  apply  paste  to  the  whole  print,  but  to 
the  two  upper  corners  of  the  back  part  (/.<?.,  the  glass  side  of  the 
negative). 

It  is  often  placed  on  the  varnished  side  of  the  negative,  but 
this,  unless  done  by  a  person  of  considerable  experience,  is  very 
risky,  as  failure  will  be  certain  for  the  beginner,  for  it  is  often  so 
with  the  experienced  printer.  When  it  is  desired  to  place  the 
cut-out  on  the  varnished  side  of  the  negative,  then  in  printing  in 
the  background,  the  mask  is  placed  close  to  the  paper  instead  of 
being  placed  on  the  outside  of  an  intervening  glass,  as  described 


152 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


below.  I  have  obtained  fine  results  in  the  above  way,  but  as  it 
is  much  more  difficult  than  the  way  I  have  partly  given,  I  very 
seldom  do  it. 

When  about  to  paste  the  background  on  the  back  of  the  nega¬ 
tive,  turn  over  the  corners  of  the  paper,  which  are  to  touch  the 
corners  of  the  negative  where  the  paste  is  placed,  as  the  neglect 
of  it  will  occasion  some  little  trouble  when  adjusting  the  print  to 
the  negative. 

When  it  is  desired  to  adjust  it,  rest  the  negative  on  a  window¬ 
sill  and  look  through  it  to  the  light,  and  then  the  printer  can 
more  easily  and  surely  do  what  he  wishes. 

When  adjusting,  keep  the  paper  smooth,  and  when  properly 
placed,  turn  down  the  corners  and  press  them  in  close  contact 
with  the  paste.  Dry  under  pressure,  in  the  sunlight  or  by  the  fire, 
so  that  the  paper  will  not  contract  out  of  place  while  drying,  which 
it  would  be  likely  to  do  if  proper  means  were  not  taken  to  pre¬ 
vent  it  from  doing  so.  When  dry,  place  it  out  to  print,  either 
plain  or  in  a  vignette  style,  as  ordered  (after  having  placed  the  sen¬ 
sitive  paperunder  the  negative),  and  print  in  a  strong  diffused  light. 

If  the  print  is  too  long  printing,  the  thickness  of  the  glass  and 
the  slowness  of  the  printing  will  cause  the  negative  to  print  out 
too  far  under  the  masked  background.  When  in  the  making  of 
the  mask  the  printer  were  to  think  that  such  will  be  the  result, 
then  make  allowance  for  the  thickness  of  the  negative,  and  for 
the  weather,  and  then,  when  necessary,  cut  a  trifle  inside  of  the 
hair  and  such  other  dark  places  that  will  print  quickly,  and  con¬ 
sequently  feather  or  blend  out  beyond  the  figure  on  to  the  back¬ 
ground. 

Do  not  touch  the  face,  however. 

If  the  printer  were  to  cut  a  trifle  inside,  as  written 
above,  then  it  will  feather  out  softly  to  just  about 
the  right  distance,  and  not  print  in  any  of  the 
background. 

Fig.  50.  Now  take  a  suitable  size  glass,  fully  as 
large  as  the  finished  print  is  to  be,  and  lay  it  on 
the  print,  and  then  paste  the  mask  (the  figure 
which  was  cut  out  of  the  background  mask),  by  applying  a  dot 
of  the  paste  at  one  place  on  the  outside  of  the  glass,  thus  having 
the  thickness  of  the  glass  between  the  mask  and  the  print. 


GENERAL  PLAIN  PAPER  PRINTING. 


153 


Place  the  print  on  a  flat  printing-board,  and  match  the  cut-out 
attached  to  the  glass  to  the  print,  and  then  place  it  out  to  print 
in  a  strong  diffused  light  if  the  picture  is  to  be  plain,  but  if  it  is 
to  be  a  vignette,  then  place  the  vignette-block  over  the  whole, 
being  careful  not  to  move  the  glass.  Place  a  tissue-paper  over 
the  vignette-block,  and  then  place  frame  and  all  out  face  to  the 
sunlight. 

If  the  background  is  to  be  a  plain  one,  print  either  darker  or 
lighter  than  the  face  of  the  figure. 

If  the  figure  is  to  have  a  vignette  background,  then  in  the 
majority  of  cases  have  it  light,  and  also  have  a  soft  halo  to  it. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

GENERAL  PLAIN  PAPER  PRINTING. 

Plain  paper  prints  are  generally  made  so  that,  by  the  aid  of 
the  finisher,  fine  results  can  be  obtained  from  poor  negatives. 

We  seldom  make,  for  the  above  reason,  plain  paper  prints  from 
life  negatives,  but  from  copy  negatives,  i. e. ,  negatives  taken  of 
other  pictures,  either  from  the  poor  ferrotype  or  the  excellent 
daguerreotype,  and  which  when  enlarged  from  the  size  of  the 
picture  to  be  copied,  all  of  the  roughness  and  defects  on  the 
picture  are  also  enlarged  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  portrait 
itself  is ;  hence  these  defects  are  very  ruinous  to  the  fineness  of 
the  finished  prints,  rendering  them  in  many  cases  totally  unfit 
for  any  kind  of  printing  that  cannot  be  worked  up,  and  although 
considerable  work  on  albumen  paper,  in  the  way  of  coloring  with 
water  colors,  is  done,  yet  by  far  the  greater  proportion  of  the 
work  is  done  on  plain  paper  and  worked  up  in  India  ink. 

It  is,  however,  indispensable  with  a  good  copyist  to  take 
measures  to  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  these  defects  from  show¬ 
ing,  and  the  rolling  of  the  prints,  the  cleansing  of  them  with 
encaustic  paste  containing  Marseilles  soap,  placing  tjje.  print  (a 
photograph  in  this  case)  when  wet  between  two  pieces  of  glass 
and  copying  it  immediately  before  it  dries,  and  a  number  of  other 


154 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


ways  are  adapted  to  bring  about  the  same  result.  Sometimes, 
however,  life  negatives  are  printed  on  plain  paper  and  worked 
up.  When  done  nicely  the  result  is  splendid,  as  there  are  no 
such  defects  to  contend  with  as  there  are  in  a  copy  negative. 

I  give  the  following  formulae,  etc.,  for  a  ready  reference  for  the 
beginner. 

Plain  unsalted  paper  is  purchased,  and  the  fine  side  is  floated  on 
for  ten  seconds,  or  the  whole  sheet  is  drawn  through  the  following 

SALTING.  SOLUTION. 

Pure  Rain-water,  .....  60  ounces. 

Chloride  of  Ammonium,  .  .  .  360  grains. 

Gelatin,  .  .  .  .  .  120  “ 

THE  POSITIVE  BATH  FOR  PLAIN  PAPER 

Is  either  a  plain  bath  of  thirty  to  forty  grains  strong  of  nitrate 
of  silver  to  the  ounce  of  pure  water,  the  albumen  paper  bath 
(which  had  better  not  be  used),  or  another  bath  known  by  the 
name  of  “  Ammonio-nitrate  Bath.”  (See  Part  fl,  Chapter  II.) 

SILVERING  PLAIN  PAPER. 

This  is  done  either  by  placing  the  sheet  on  a  solution  called 
the  printing-bath  or  by  swabbing.  If  floating  is  preferred,  then 
twenty-five  to  thirty  seconds  on  a  bath  of  thirty  grains  strong  is 
about  right  for  summer,  and  thirty-five  to  forty  seconds  on  a  bath 
of  forty-five  grains  strong  is  best  for  winter.  In  swabbing  the 
paper,  pour  on  to  the  fine  side  of  it  about  half  an  ounce  of  the 
solution,  and  distribute  it  equally  over  the  surface  by  means  of 
the  swab. 

“DOCTORING”  THE  NEGATIVES  BEFORE  PRINTING. 

Look  out  for  heavy  shadows,  heavy  lines,  and  also  look  to  see 
if  you  can  improve  the  looks  of  the  forehead,  cheeks,  nose,  chin, 
ears,  hand  and  arms,  flat  faces,  etc. 

The  remedy  is  generally,  i.e.,  to  myself,  either  the  blue  paint 
dodge,  Irish  process,  or  the  retouching  pencil. 

Make  it  your  business  to  study  every  negative  that  falls  into 
your  hands  for  you  to  print  from. 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  PRINTS  AFTER  PRINTING.  155 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FURTHER  TREATMENT  OF  THE  PRINTS  AFTER  PRINTING. 

The  plain  paper  prints  when  printed  are  then  to  go  through 
the  same  operations  as  the  albumen  prints. 

In  the  first  place  the  edges  of  the  prints  are  trimmed  so  that 
they  will  not  be  so  likely  to  tear  in  the  water. 

After  the  albumen  prints  are  toned ,  the  plain  prints  are  washed 
by  hand — which  can  be  accomplished  in  three  minutes — and  then 
toned  immediately.  The  strength  and  looks  of  the  plain  paper 
prints  are  hurt  considerably  if  they  are  permitted  to  pass  through 
the  same  treatment  for  so  long  a  time  as  the  albumen  prints  are, 
and  for  this  reason  they  should  never  be  placed  in  the  acidulated 
water  unless  the  quantity  of  the  acid  in  it  is  very  small,  as  it  flat¬ 
tens  the  print  fearfully. 

The  prints  should  not  be  “washed  to  death  ”  before  they  are 
toned,  which  they  would  be  if  they  were  to  be  subjected  to  the 
same  time  of  washing  as  the  albumen  photographs  are.  The 
norny  surface  of  the  albumen  prints  is  different  from  the  soft  and 
spongy  surface  of  the  plain,  and  whereas  it  may  take  fifteen  min¬ 
utes  for  the  washing  and  acidifying  solution  to  do  its  work  on  the 
hard  surface  of  the  albumen  paper,  three  minutes  would  be  ample 
time  for  the  plain  paper. 

In  the  first  water  for  the  plain  paper  prints,  about  a  dozen 
drops  (no  more)  of  acetic  acid  No.  8  may  be  placed,  but  after 
the  prints  have  been  in  there  two  minutes,  remove  and  rinse  them 
well  from  the  acid  water,  and  then  they  are  ready  to  be  toned. 

The  prints  are  toned  slowly,  so  that  the  action  of  the  gold  on 
them  will  not  be  so  rapid  as  to  cause  them  to  show  weakness, 
which  they  will  surely  do  if  the  toning  is  rapid  and  forced. 

To  do  this  they  are  generally  toned  after  the  bath  has  toned 
the  albumen  prints,  and  is  well  nigh  exhausted. 

The  albumen  paper  toning-bath  can  be  used  for  the  plain  prints, 
whether  made  up  every  night  fresh  or  not,  without  any  hurt  to 
either  the  bath  or  the  prints.  They  should  also  be  toned  face  up 
in  the  bath,  as  stronger  prints  are  obtained  by  so  doing  than  if 
they  were  toned  with  the  face  down  in  the  solution. 


156 


\ 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


When  the  prints  are  toned  blue,  rinse  the  toning  solution  from 
them,  and  then  they  are  ready  to  be  fixed  in  the  ordinary  fixing- 
bath. 

Fix  ten  minutes,  keeping  the  prints  in  constant  motion  during 
that  time,  and  then  weaken  the  bath  three  times,  thus  making  it 
finally  like  unto  the  density  of  water.  The  albumen  and  plain 
paper  prints  can  be  all  fixed  in  the  same  bath. 

The  washing  of  the  plain  prints  can  be  done  in  a  much  shorter 
time  than  the  albumen  ones,  and  if  the  printer  can,  he  had  better 
remove  them  from  the  bath  of  fresh  water  when  they  have  been 
washed  thoroughly  :  say  four  or  five  hours  in  continually  changing 
water  will  be  plenty  of  time. 

The  prints  are  then  mounted  on  No.  i  extra  cardboard,  and 
when  dry  they  are  rolled  once  under  an  ordinary  roller,  and  under 
slight  pressure.  Never  think  of  using  the  burnisher  for  plain 
paper  prints. 

The  prints  are  now  ready  for  the  india-ink  artist. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CAUSES  OF  FAILURES  IN  ALBUMEN  AND  PLAIN  PAPER 

PRINTING. 

In  this  chapter  we  shall  give  the  causes  and  the  remedies  of  the 
failures  that  are  constantly  occurring,  both  in  albumen  and  plain 
paper  printing. 

ALBUMEN  PAPER. 

There  is  considerable  fault  found  with  some  of  the  albumen 
paper  which  is  in  a  great  measure  unnecessary. 

Now  there  is  no  paper  manufactured  and  successfully  worked 
by  a  few  photographic  printers  but  that  can  be  worked  by  a  great 
many  if  they  were  to  try  to  work  it,  and  not  discard  it  if  the  first 
(trial)  sheet  should  not  happen  to  work  as  it  might  be  wished  by 
the  printer.  If  a  paper  is  worked  successfully  by  some  photo¬ 
graphic  printers,  why  should  we  not  endeavor  also  to  work  it 
successfully  ? 


CAUSES  OF  FAILURES. 


157 


It  may  be  a  source  of  some  trouble,  and  also  at  the  expense  of 
considerable  time,  to  do  so,  but  do  it  we  should,  if  only  for  our 
own  satisfaction. 

There  is  no  necessity  for  sensitizing  the  very  first  thing,  six, 
eight,  or  a  dozen  sheets  of  paper  the  working  of  which  the  printer 
is  unfamiliar  with,  and  then,  because  it  is  sensitized,  to  print  and 
tone  it  all  up,  saying  for  an  excuse  that  we  cannot  afford  to  lose 
so  much  paper. 

Do  not  keep  on  printing  day  after  day,  when  the  paper  is  work¬ 
ing  badly,  but  stop  off  short ,  even  if  the  best  part  of  a  day  is 
wasted,  and  work  constantly  in  every  way  and  manner  until  you 
are  through  with  your  difficulty,  and  then  your  work  will  again 
be  excellent. 

Unfortunately  the  printer  seldom  has  the  say  about  such  things 
(which  he  should  have  if  he  is  capable),  and  the  photographer 
forbids  his  doing  any  such  thing  on  account  of  the  time  wasted 
(as  he  terms  it),  and  “the  orders  promised  to-morrow,’’  etc. 
The  customers  probably  had  rather  wait  a  day  or  so,  if  their 
photographs  would  be  any  better,  but  there  is  an  old  saying, 
“Where  there’s  a  will,  there’s  a  way,”  which  I  always  bring 
home  to  myself,  when  I  feel  inclined  to  invent  excuses  for  such 
things. 

There  are  some  faults,  however,  with  the  albumen  papers, 
which  rightfully  give  them  the  name  of  poor  paper,  and  such  I 
will  here  give. 

UNEVEN  ALBUMENIZING. 

This  unevenness  in  the  albumenizing  of  the  paper  can  readily 
be  seen  by  examining  the  paper,  and  noticing  how  much  thicker 
the  albumen  is  on  one  side  of  the  sheet  than  it  is  on  the  other. 

This  unevenness  will  sometimes  affect  the  resulting  prints  of 
the  same  negative  printed  on  different  parts  of  the  same  sheet 
of  paper,  some  of  the  paper  being  much  more  brilliant  than  others, 
which  is  accounted  for  on  the  ground  of  the  albumen  being 
thicker  on  the  paper  on  which  the  more  brilliant  prints  were 
made. 

PAPER  REPELLING  THE  BATH  SOLUTION. 

The  albumen  on  the  paper  is  too  dry  and  horny.  Let  it  re¬ 
main  in  a  damp  and  rather  cool  place  over  night,  and  be  sure  and 

14 


158 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


float  the  paper  when  it  is  damp,  and  not  let  it  remain  in  a  warm 
room  before  floating,  if  it  is  only  for  a  few  minutes,  as  it  will 
immediately  become  horny  again. 

TEAR-DROPS. 

These  are  caused  by  the  same  reason,  and,  in  fact,  are  often 
the  result  of  the  above.  The  tear-drops  accumulate  in  spots  over 
the  paper,  and  when  the  rest  of  the  paper  is  dry  these  spots  will 
not  be  so.  To  avoid  it  in  future,  have  your  paper  damp  and  the 
bath  not  too  strong,  and  to  save  the  paper  on  which  these  spots 
already  have  appeared,  blot  the  superfluous  part  of  the  solution 
with  blotting-paper.  Drawing  the  paper  over  a  glass  rod  will 
often  cure  it. 

ALBUMEN  SPOTS  AND  STREAKS. 

These  are  caused  by  carelessness  in  albumenizing ;  the  spots 
by  albumen  spattering  on  the  paper,  the  streaks  by  the  albumen 
running  zigzag  when  the  paper  is  hung  over  a  line  to  dry. 

These  streaks  are  generally  in  the  middle  of  the  sheet,  and  run 
either  in  the  direction  of  its  length  or  width,  and  very  often 
diagonally. 

METALLIC  SPOTS. 

These  are  found  in  almost  all  of  the  albumen  papers  that  I  have 
used,  and  owing  to  the  partiality  which  the  Rives  paper  has  for 
it  the  Saxe  paper  is  very  much  preferred  by  many  photographers, 
as  there  is  none  found  in  that  particular  paper.  It  is  occasioned 
in  various  ways;  often  in  the  drying  of  the  freshly  albumenized 
paper.  When  so  caused  it  is  owing  to  clouds  of  iron-dust,  which 
are  set  in  motion  by  draughts,  etc.,  which  settle  on  the  paper, 
as  before  said,  while  drying.  The  (iron)  dust  generally  occurs 
from  the  iron  rust  on  the  stoves,  which  are  used  in  keeping  the 
rooms  hot  for  the  purpose  of  drying  the  paper,  or  from  the  ma¬ 
chinery. 

Metallic  spots  occur  also  from  some  local  cause  in  the  printing- 
room,  probably  while  drying,  after  it  is  sensitized  on  the  printing- 
bath.  The  gas-stove,  which  has  become  rusty  (varnish  it  all  over 
wheft  it  is  so)  either  from  drops  of  water  which  have  been  care¬ 
lessly  spilt  on  it,  or  from  dampness  of  the  air,  detaches  some 
particles  of  it  in  the  air  by  the  draughts,  which  are  numerous  as 


CAUSES  OF  FAILURES. 


159 


soon  as  the  stove  is  lighted,  and  settling  on  the  paper  while  wet 
with  silver  will  cause  a  very  decided  metallic-looking  spot  or  stain 
on  the  paper,  and  which  appears  to  be  more  of  a  stain  caused  by 
iron-rust  coming  in  contact  with  the  silver  than  it  does  like  a 
piece  of  iron-rust,  and  as  a  very  small  speck  of  dust  of  this  na¬ 
ture  will  cause  a  large  stain,  we  are  led  to  believe  that  the  metallic 
spots  are  developed  or  decomposed  on  the  paper,  and  thus  if  there 
should  only  be  a  small  cloud  of  dust  of  this  kind  in  the  air  it 
would  finally  be  productive  of  disastrous  results. 

This  kind  of  dust  is  easily  told  from  that  which  occurs  in  the 
manufacturing  of  the  plain  unalbumenized  paper,  or  in  the  albu- 
menizing  of  the  plain  paper,  by  picking  out  a  few  of  these  metallic 
spots  with  a  needle,  and  then  if  the  spots  have  accumulated  in 
the  manufacture  of  the  plain  paper  they  will  then  be  found  deeply 
imbedded  in  the  paper  and  beneath  the  surface  of  the  albumen, 
and  from  the  appearance  of  the  dug-out  place  I  am  led  to  believe 
that  small  particles  of  machinery,  which  are  at  times  flying 
through  the  air,  imbed  themselves  in  the  paper,  and  thus  occa¬ 
sion  the  smutty  appearance  of  the  holes  which  have  been  left 
when  the  metallic  spots  are  dug  out. 

If  they  occurred  in  the  albumenizing  they  will  be  superficial, 
and  before  the  paper  is  silvered  will  be  very  faint  in  appearance, 
but  after  it  is  silvered  they  will  be  brought  more  fully  out. 

When  the  dust  has  got  on  the  paper,  when  freshly  sensitized, 
it  will  have  a  freshness  and  brightness  that  will  readily  tell  the 
examiner  when  it  got  there. 

FAILURES  IN  PREPARING  PLAIN  PAPER  FOR  PRINTING. 

Good  paper  for  plain  paper  printing  can  be  had  by  using  the 
back  of  albumen  paper,  as  the  salt  which  is  mixed  with  the  albu¬ 
men  in  the  albumenizing  of  the  paper  will,  in  conjunction  with 
the  albumen,  make  a  strong  print  without  any  necessity  for  any 
more  salting.  I  have  obtained  fair  results  by  the  use  of  the  above, 
but  have  used  paper  prepared  as  given  in  a  former  chapter  with 
greater  success,  but  in  case  of  emergency  the  other  way  will 
answer. 

Anderson  recommends  for  salting,  a  solution  of  five  grains  of 
chloride  of  ammonium  to  the  ounce  of  water.  He  says  nothing 
about  the  use  of  gelatin  in  the  solution,  but  I  find  that  the  prints 


160 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


are  much  better  if  a  couple  of  grains  or  so  of  the  gelatin  are 
added  to  every  ounce  of  water.  An  india-ink  artist  also  informs 
me  that  the  paper  works  better  with  it  than  without  it. 

If  the  plain  prints  have  a  sunk-in  appearance  (and  you  are  cer¬ 
tain  that  it  has  that  appearance),  then  the  salt  is  used  in  too  large 
a  quantity  in  the  salting. 

If  they  are  flat  and  mean-looking  prints,  then  the  reverse  is  the 
cause. 

If  the  plain  paper  prints  are  coarse,  you  have  used  the  wrong 
side  in  sensitizing,  and  if  that  is  not  the  case,  then  you  used  the 
wrong  side  in  floating  on  the  salting  solution. 

If  the  coarseness  appeared  after  the  final  washing  (J.  e.,  after 
it  has  been  mounted  and  before  it  has  been  worked  up),  then  the 
paper  has  been  subjected  to  too  harsh  alkalies,  probably  in  the 
toning-bath. 

If  you  cannot  get  a  print  on  plain  paper,  t.  e.,  no  signs  of  de¬ 
cent  printing,  probably  the  paper  has  not  been  salted.  To  de¬ 
termine  if  a  paper  is  salted  taste  of  a  corner,  and  if  it  taste  saline 
then  it  has  been  ;  if  it  does  not,  then  the  reverse.  If  there  are 
transparent  spots  all  over  the  plain  paper,  you  have  probably 
handled  it  with  greasy  fingers.  These  disappear  when  finished. 


FAILURES  WITH  THE  POSITIVE  PRINTING  BATH. 

These  occur  both  in  the  making,  working,  and  care  of  it. 

In  weiging  out  the  nitrate  of  silver,  or  the  nitrate  of  ammo¬ 
nium,  etc.,  always  be  sure  that  the  scales  are  clean,  and  place 
small  pieces  of  paper  on  both  sides  of  the  scales,  of  the  same 
size,  before  weighing  out  anything,  and  you  will  be  doubly  sure 
then  of  perfect  cleanliness.  Use  fresh  pieces  of  paper  every  time 
you  use  the  scales. 

Never  touch  your  fingers  any  more  than  what  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  contents  of  your  bottles,  and  when  about  to 
weigh  out  silver,  etc.,  place  a  piece  of  the  paper  previously  placed 
in  the  scales,  in  your  hand,  and  pour  the  silver  in  that. 

In  weighing  out  chemicals  always  be  sure  that  you  have  reck¬ 
oned  the  precise  amount  of  grains,  etc.,  correctly.  It  would  be 
a  good  thing  to  have  a  table  of  ounces  reduced  to  grains,  and  I 


CAUSES  OF  FAILURES. 


161 


will  here  give  one  for  solids,  such  as  nitrate  of  soda,  etc.,  and 
also  one  for  fluid  measures. 


Solids. 


Fluids. 


20  Grains  =  1  Scruple 
3  Scruples  =  1  Drachm 
8  Drachms  =  1  Ounce 
12  Ounces  =  1  Pound 


=  20  Grains. 

=  60  “ 

=  480  " 

=  5760  “ 


60  Minims  . 
8  Drachms 
16  Ounces  . 
8  Pints 


.  =  1  Fluid  drachm. 

.  =  1  Ounce. 

.  =  1  Pint. 

.  =  1  Gallon. 


When  about  to  make  up  solutions  always  be  sure  that  the  bot¬ 
tles  are  clean. 

In  the  mixing  up  of  solutions,  as  per  formulae,  if  there  is  a 
particular  way  of  mixing  them  given  (as  I  have  given  in,  the 
making  of  the  collodio-chloride  in  Part  III),  always  mix  them  in 
that  order. 

In  the  printing  department,  when  pure  water  is  recommended, 
and  distilled  is  not  at  hand,  then  pure  filtered  rain-water,  or 
clean  melted  ice,  will  answer. 

In  cold  weather,  always  warm  your  silver-bath  before  using, 
and  not  float  your  paper  on  an  ice-cold  solution. 

Make  your  bath  stronger  in  cold  weather,  and  also  silver  longer, 
than  what  you  do  in  summer. 

In  the  summer,  printers  are  apt  to  get  their  bath  too  weak  in 
silver;  never  let  it  get  below  thirty  grains  strong  of  pure  nitrate 
of  silver  to  the  ounce  of  water,  saying  nothing  of  the  other  in¬ 
gredients  which  are  sometimes  used  in  the  composition  of  the 
bath. 

Do  not  let  your  solution  get  too  low  in  quantity,  so  that  you 
will  have  to  place  in  a  large  quantity  of  the  stock  at  one  time,  as 
for  the  next  day  or  two  the  bath  will  not  work  so  well.  Always 
have  your  stock,  or  adding  solution,  made  up  in  the  same  propor¬ 
tion,  as  to  ingredients,  as  was  used  in  the  first  composition  of 
your  daily  bath. 

Always  keep  your  printing-bath  in  the  dish  covered  up  when 
not  in  use. 

Pour  your  bath  back  into  the  bottle  every  night,  clean  your 
dish  out,  and  set  it  away,  bottom  upwards,  on  a  shelf  covered 
with  clean  paper. 

Filter  your  bath  before  using  it  the  next  day. 

When  the  bath  in  the  silvering-dish  is  dirty,  always  skim  it 
before  using  again.  , 


If* 


162 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


When  the  bath  is  discolored,  which  is  due  to  the  impurities 
which  have  been  left  in  it  from  floating,  etc.,  always  clear  up 
with  a  little  kaolin,  camphor,  or  permanganate  of  potash,  etc., 
as  has  been  explained  in  a  former  chapter. 

Sun  the  bath  when  not  in  use. 

Test  your  bath  every  morning  before  use  to  ascertain  both  the 
strength  of  silver  and  the  degree  of  alkalinity  of  the  solution. 

Be  sure  that  your  bath  is  a  little  alkaline,  but  never 'acid  (see 
Chapter  I,  Part  I)  unless  you  are  using  the  citric  acid  printing- 
bath,  and  then  have  it  only  a  little  so  ;  but  in  the  case  when  you 
are  not  using  such  a  bath,  never  have  the  solution  acid  with  nitric 
acid.  Better  results  are  obtained  with  either  an  alkaline  or  a 
neutral  bath  than  with  an  acid  one. 

For  a  weak  negative,  and  one  inclined  to  be  flat,  a  strong  bath 
and  a  longer  time  of  floating  is  required  than  when  the  opposite 
is  the  case. 

Better  prints  are  obtained  by  the  addition  of  alum,  or  nitrate 
of  ammonium,  or  both,  to  the  bath  solution,  than  what  is  ob¬ 
tained  without  them,  as  they  coagulate  the  albumen,  and  keep 
the  solution  on  the  surface,  making  more  brilliant  prints,  and 
being  more  easily  washed  in  the  final  washing. 

Boil  your  bath  down  two-thirds  every  month  or  so,  and  make 
up  as  before. 

Use  Pile’s  test-tube  and  solution  for  testing  your  bath,  when 
there  is  anything  in  it  besides  nitrate  of  silver,  as  the  common 
hydrometer  will  mislead  you. 

When  you  wish  to  know  the  quantity  of  nitrate  of  ammonium, 
or  soda,  in  your  bath,  and  you  are  sure  that  the  albumen  and 
other  impurities  are  out  of  it,  then  test  with  the  hydrometer  and 
with  Pile’s  test  (which  is  the  only  sure  test  for  the  silver),  sub¬ 
tract  the  two,  and  the  difference  is  one-half  the  number  of  grains 
of  nitrate  of  ammonium  in  the  bath. 

For  instance,  suppose  you  were  to  make  up  a  silver-bath  of 
thirty  grains  strong  to  the  ounce  of  water,  and  wishing  nitrate  of 
ammonium  in  the  bath,  you  also  put  in  thirty  grains  of  this  to 
the  ounce.  Test  with  hydrometer,  and  it  will  stand  at  forty-five 
grains.  Test  with  Pile’s  tube,  and  you  will,  of  course  (for  you 
know  in  this  case,  for  the  bath  was  just  made  up,  and  has  not 
been  used),  find  it  this  time  to  stand  at  thirty  grains.  Subtract 


CA  USES  OF  FAILURES. 


163 


the  two  ;  fifteen  grains  are  left,  which  is  half  of  the  number  of 
grains  which  you  know  was  added. 

In  the  case  just  cited,  the  rule  may  not  be  required,  for  you 
know  already  the  strength  of  the  bath,  and  just  how  much  nitrate 
of  ammonium  there  is  in  it,  but  when  a  bath  has  been  used  for 
some  time,  the  amount  of  each  is  not  known,  then  the  above 
may  be  handy.  Before  using  the  above  test,  however,  the  printer 
should  endeavor,  as  far  as  lies  in  his  power,  to  remove  all  of  the 
organic  matter  from  the  bath,  so  that  it  will  not  deceive  him. 

FAILURES  IN  SILVERING  THE  PAPER. 

Paper  Silvered  too  Long  a  Time. — Result :  The  paper  will  dis¬ 
color  very  quickly,  according  to  temperature,  and  the  prints  will 
have  a  sunken-in  appearance,  and  with  a  strong  bath  bronzing  is 
very  plainly  indicated  (even  when  the  prints  are  finished)  in  all 
of  the  slight  shadows,  even  those  under  the  eyebrows,  the  latter 
result  being  more  evident  in  the  case  of  the  albumen  paper  the 
former  (sunk-in  apperance),  both  in  plain  and  albumen  paper. 

Paper  Silvered  too  Short  a  Time. — Result :  Weak,  flat  prints, 
without  any  boldness,  prints  red,  and  red  spots  of  various  sizes 
are  very  noticeable.  The  bath  is  either  too  weak  or  the  paper  is 
floated  too  short  a  time,  or  both,  when  the  above  results  appear. 

Plain  paper,  if  silvered  too  short  a  time,  will  act  similarly  to 
albumen,  and  then  if  it  had  been  swabbed  when  this  result 
occurs,  the  strength  of  the  silver  solution  is  too  low,  and  should 
be  increased. 

Do  not  lay  flat  and  red  prints  to  the  paper  being  undersilvered, 
unless  you  are  sure  that  the  paper  has  been  thoroughly  dried 
before  and  after  fuming,  as  the  same  results  occur  by  printing 
upon  paper  that  has  not  been  dried,  as  said  before. 

Bubbles  on  the  Paper  while  Silvering. — Blow  at  them,  or  touch 
gently  with  a  glass  rod. 

Paper  Curling  over  while  Silvering. — Breathe  gently  (don’t 
blow)  on  it,  and  it  will  flatten  at  once. 

Greasiness  to  the  Solution  on  the  Paper  after  Floating. — The 
paper  was  either  too  dry  before  floating,  solution  too  cold,  or  the 
paper  was  floated  too  short  a  time. 

Uneven  Silvering,  see  Silvering  the  Albumen  Paper,  Chapter  II, 
Part  I. 


164 


TIIE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


Stains  on  the  Paper  after  Silvering,  and  while  Drying. — Caused 
by  the  paper  coming  into  contact  with  dirty  places  while  you  are 
hanging  it  up,  by  dirty  hands,  and  stains  running  from  the  cor- 
-  ners  where  the  paper  is  suspended  either  by  common  pins,  tacks, 
etc.  Remedy:  Carefulness  in  hanging  up  the  paper,  and  by  the 
use  of  spring  clips. 


FAILURES  IN  DRYING  THE  PAPER. 

Swinging  and  sticking  together  of  the  paper  while  drying, 
caused  by  draughts. 

Curling  of  the  paper  while  drying  can  be  prevented  by  obtain¬ 
ing  a  piece  of  stick  as  long  as  the  lower  side  of  the  suspended 
paper,  and  nailing  a  spring  clip  at  each  end  of  the  stick ;  fasten 
it  to  the  paper  by  means  of  the  nippers  when  the  solution  on  the 
paper  has  stopped  dripping. 

Tear-drops  in  Drying. — Absorb  the  drops  of  solution  with  a 
piece  of  bibulous  paper,  and  dry  thoroughly. 

Place  a  piece  of  tissue-paper  on  the  lower  corners  of  the  paper 
while  drying. 


FAILURES  IN  FUMING. 

Insufficient  Fuming. — Result  :  Prints  are  red,  flat,  and  weak. 
The  ammonia  is  not  strong  enough,  or  the  paper  was  taken  from 
the  box  before  it  ought  to  have  been. 

Too  much  Fuming. — Result :  Prints  have  a  disagreeable  blue 
and  a  cold,  repelling  (and  often  metallic)  look  to  them.  Remedy : 
Fume  less. 

Uneven  Fuming. — Result :  Part  of  the  paper  prints  well,  and 
other  parts  print  flat  and  weak.  Caused  either  by  the  curling  of 
the  paper  while  fuming,  or  by  parts  of  the  paper  being  covered 
with  other  sheets. 

CUTTING  THE  PAPER  FOR  PRINTING. 

Dirty  Paper. — Caused  by  dirty  hands,  shears,  or  by  laying  the 
paper  in  a  dirty  place. 

Paper  Cut  Badly. — Caused  either  by  carelessness  or  ignorance. 


CAUSES  OF  FAILURES. 


165 


FAILURES  IN  PRINTING. 

Breaking  of  Negatives. — Caused  either  by  carelessness,  flaws 
in  glass,  curved  negatives,  bad  cutting,  printing-frames,  etc. 

Double  Features  on  the  Prints. — Caused  by  the  prints  moving 
in  examining  them  during  printing. 

Harsh  Vignettes. — Caused  either  by  a  bad  wooden  vignette- 
block,  the  vignetting  papers  or  cardboard  being  too  near  the 
negative,  and  if  none  of  the  above  is  the  cause,  then  by  the  vign¬ 
ette  not  being  blended  enough  for  the  strength  of  the  light  it 
was  printed  in.  (See  Chapters  IX  and  XII,  Part  I.) 

Badly  Shaped  Vignettes. — Caused  by  the  use  of  a  badly  formed 
vignetting  arrangement. 

Medallion  Printing. — Badly  printed  crescent  lines,  etc.  Caused 
by  poor  cut-outs  and  masks  (t.  e.,  background  masks),  and  often 
by  the  wrong  use  of  them,  even  if  they  are  good.  (See  Chapter 

XIII,  Part  I.) 

Fancy  Medallion  Printing. — Failures  in  this  style  of  printing 
are  generally  caused  by  not  going  to  work  rightly.  (See  Chapter 

XIV,  Part  I.) 

Printing  in  Gray. — Failures  in  this  style  of  printing  are  harsh 
edges.  Caused  by  shading  the  figure  poorly.  (See  Chapter  XIV, 
Part  I.) 

Bendann  Backgrounds. — Failures  with  moving  backgrounds, 
backgrounds  printing  in  the  figures,  bad  taste  in  choosing  the 
right  style  of  background,  etc.  (See  Chapter  XVI,  Part  I.) 

Blurred  Prints. — Caused  by  the  paper  not  being  in  perfect 
contact  with  the  negative,  and  then  again  it  is  caused  by  the 
paper  being  too  large  for  the  place  allotted  to  it  in  the  frame,  by 
its  being  damp,  etc. 

White  Spots  on  the  Paper. — Caused  by  the  bubbles  being  per¬ 
mitted  to  remain  under  the  paper  while  it  is  floating,  and  by  dirt 
on  the  negatives. 

Unevenly  Printed  Shadows. — Caused  by  poor  “doctoring”  of 
the  negatives,  or  by  printing  the  negative  after  it  is  doctored  in 
too  strong  a  light. 

Uneven  Printing. — Negatives  being  partly  shaded  during  the 
printing,  and  when  reference  is  made  to  the  result  of  a  day’s 


1(56 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


batch  of  prints,  then  a  great  diversity  of  the  shades  of  prints  are 
meant ;  some  being  too  light,  and  others  too  dark,  etc. 

FAILURES  IN  TRIMMING  PRINTS. 

I  will  not  here  attempt  to  tell  how  the  failures  may  be  avoided 
but  only  to  notice  where  these  failures  generally  occur,  and  then 
the  remedy  will  be  obvious. 

Head  cut  too  high  or  too  low  in  the  prints,  cut  too  much  to 
one  side,  prints  cut  so  that  the  figure  appears  to  be  falling  either 
in  one  direction  or  another,  and,  when  the  figure  is  leaning  on  a 
chair  or  a  table,  the  idea  of  leaning  is  not  carried  out,  so  that 
the  figure  will  appear  to  be  sitting  up  straight,  with  the  arms  lying 
on  the  table,  merely  mechanically,  without  conveying  to  the  un¬ 
derstanding  of  the  tasteful  critic  any  successful  idea  that  the  pho¬ 
tographer  intended  to  have  carried  out. 

When  a  print  is  cut  as  last  described,  a  beautiful  pose  is  often 
completely  spoiled,  and  it  looks  to  be  just  exactly  the  opposite, 
as  regards  beauty  of  pose,  to  what  it  is  in  the  negative.  The 
young  beginner  can  thus  see  how  he  can  completely  spoil  the 
beauty  of  a  pose  by  making  it  a  mechanical,  instead  of  an  artistic 
one. 

Besides  the  above,  there  are  scores  and  scores  of  cases  in  which 
the  prints  are  a  failure  when  so  trimmed. 

FAILURES  IN  WASHING. 

Imperfectly  Washed  Prints.  —  Caused  by  the  prints  lying 
together  in  the  water ;  bad  results  follow  such  treatment  of  the 
prints. 

FAILURES  IN  ACIDIFYING. 

Spotted  Prints. — The  acid  water  has  either  got  on  the  prints 
before  they  were  placed  in  the  water,  or  they  were  separated  im¬ 
perfectly  while  being  placed  in  the  acid  water. 

Refusing  to  Red  up. — The  water  is  too  cold,  the  acid  too  weak, 
or  the  paper  was  fumed  too  long. 

Blistering  of  the  Paper. — The  water  was  either  too  cold  or  too 
hot. 


CAUSES  OF  FAILURES. 


167 


FAILURES  IN  TONING. 

Toning  Baths. — The  failures  in  the  toning  bath  are  in  the  com¬ 
position  of  it,  being  made  up  wrong,  or  having  got  some  foreign 
substance  in  it  that  spoils  the  fine  working  of  it. 

Acid  Toning  Baths. — These  baths  will  tone  if  only  a  little  acid, 
but  not  so  nicely  as  alkaline  toning  baths,  owing  to  the  acidity  of 
the  solution,  which  bleaches  the  prints  considerably  before  they 
are  toned,  and  thus  destroys  the  strength  and  beauty  of  them. 
They  also  tone  very  much  slower,  as  the  gold  is  not  thrown  down 
on  the  prints  only  very  slowly,  as  the  acidity  of  the  solution  holds 
it  in  suspension.  That  is  why  we  make  our  stock  solution  of 
gold  acid,  and  only  neutralize  a  part  of  it  whenever  we  commence 
to  tone,  for  if  we  were  not  to  do  this,  the  gold  of  the  solution  in 
the  stock-bottle  would  be  thrown  down,  and  the  solution  would 
then  be  useless.  Toning  baths  should  always  be  made  alkaline 
before  use. 


FAILURES  IN  TONING  PRINTS. 

When  the  bath  is  too  strong  ( i.  e. ,  contains  too  much  chloride 
of  gold),  the  prints  tone  so  rapidly  that  you  cannot  stop  the 
toning  quickly  enough  to  prevent  them  from  getting  overtoned. 

Uneven  toning  is  caused  by  the  bath  being  too  strong,  prints 
lying  more  or  less  together  while  in  the  bath,  insufficient  moving 
while  toning,  and  then  again  by  the  prints  not  being  washed  suffi¬ 
ciently  before  toning,  strengthening  the  bath  while  the  prints 
are  in  it,  etc. 

Prints  showing  weakness  in  the  toning  bath  is  owing  partly  to 
the  bath  being  too  strong,  and  the  prints  being  more  or  less  weak 
before  they  were  placed  in  the  bath,  and  if  the  latter  is  the  case, 
then  a  quick-working  bath  will  increase  this  weakness. 

Prints  refusing  to.  tone  is  due  to  the  solution  being  too  cold, 
too  acid,  or  there  not  being  enough  gold  in  the  solution. 

Mechanical  Toning. — This  is  the  name  given  to  toning  when 
all  prints  are  toned  alike,  whether  they  are  portraits,  landscapes, 
machinery,  drawings,  etc.,  when  certain  tones  are  best  suited  for 
each  of  them.  (See  Chapter  XXIV,  Part  I.) 


168 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


FAILURES  IN  FIXING  PRINTS. 

If  the  fixing-bath  should  be  at  all  acid  sulphur  will  be  liberated 
from  the  hyposulphite  of  soda,  which  will  unite  with  the  silver 
both  in  the  prints  and  that  which  is  in  the  solution,  forming  sul¬ 
phide  of  silver,  which  will  eventually  be  the  means  of  spoiling 
the  prints.  To  be  sure  that  the  bath  will  never  be  acid,  add 
bicarbonate  of  soda  to  every  batch  of  soda  solution  you  make ; 
and  never  use  a  bhth  twice,  as  it  will  cause  the  prints  to  fade,  for 
the  very  reason  that  has  been  spoken  of  above,  and  the  whites  of 
the  prints  will  discolor  and  be  a  white-yellow  in  color  rather  than 
the  virgin  white. 

Uneven  Fixing. — This  is  caused  by  the  prints  not  being  separ¬ 
ated  thoroughly  while  in  the  bath,  and  the  silver  consequently 
not  being  thoroughly  removed. 

Air-bubbles  in  Fixing. — The  bubbles  continuing  unbroken  in 
the  fixing-bath  often  get  between  the  prints,  and  if  they  are  not 
kept  in  constant  motion  while  in  the  bath,  these  bubbles  will 
cause  minute  spots  of  imperfect  fixing.  These  spots  are  yellow. 

If  the  prints  are  constantly  kept  in  motion  while  in  the  bath, 
about  all  of  the  evil  effects  that  have  been  named  above  will  be 
avoided. 

FAILURES  IN  WASHING. 

Insufficient  washing  is  a  source  of  the  fading  of  the  prints, 
making  them  turn  yellow  in  a  short  time. 

If  the  prints  have  not  been  sufficiently  fixed,  they  will  show  it 
when  washing,  as  then  they  will  look  dark  and  muddy  when  ex¬ 
amined  in  a  strong  light.  Keep  the  prints  separated  from  each 
other  while  washing. 

FAILURES  AFTER  THE  FINAL  WASHING. 

Mounting  Prints. — Starch,  etc.,  as  a  source  of  fading.  (See 
Chapter  XXVII,  Part  I.) 

Cards  a  Source  of  Fading. — It  has  been  discussed  considerably, 
as  to  whether  the  cards  upon  which  the  prints  are  mounted  are  a 
source  of  fading.  It  has  been  satisfactorily  proved  by  many  of 


CAUSES  OF  FAILURES. 


W.) 

our  leading  first-class  photographers,  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
that  it  is  very  seldom,  indeed,  that  there  is  anything  in  the  cards 
that  will  affect  the  prints. 

Lately  (i.e.,  within  a  year  or  so)  the  manufacturers  of  the  card- 
mounts  have  taken  more  pains  to  utterly  exclude,  as  far  as  possi¬ 
ble,  all  such  ingredients  in  the  manufacture  of  the  cards  that 
will  in  any  way  help  to  destroy  the  prints. 

Owing  to  the  blame  being  laid  to  the  card-mounts,  as  a  cause 
of  the  prints  fading,  an  eminent  firm  of  Paris,  France  (MM. 
Rohaut  &  Hutinet,  manufacturers  of  card-mounts),  made  a  fair 
and  impartial  trial,  and  laid  the  result  of  their  experiments  and 
researches  before  the  French  Photographic  Society,  which  society 
was  satisfied  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  card-mounts  are  not  a 
source  of  fading  of  the  prints,  but  that  when  fading  does  occur, 
it  is  from  other  causes,  probably  improper  manipulations  of  the 
prints,  etc.  If  the  members  of  this  society,  who  were  in  the  first 
place  prejudiced  against  the  card-mounts,  all  of  whom  are  ex¬ 
cellent  photographers,  are  satisfied  with  the  investigations,  we 
also  should  be,  and  I  for  one  am. 

Now  when  we  take  into  consideration  that  the  prints,  which 
we  know  are  properly  manipulated,  do  not  fade  for  months  (see 
experiments,  page  129)  under  severe  tests,  we  cannot  help  being 
satisfied  that  those  prints  were  excellently  made,  and  properly 
manipulated ;  and  we  do  not  think  of  such  a  thing  as  the  card- 
mounts  making  them  fade,  because  they  do  not. 

It  is  only  when  the  prints  fade  that  the  mounts  are  said  to  be 
a  source  of  their  fading. 

I  know  of  a  photographer  who  to  my  certain  knowledge 
changed  his  mind  no  less  than  six  times  in  as  many  months -about 
the  mounts  making  the  prints  fade,  at  one  time  saying  that  they 
did  not,  because  the  prints  were  “all  right,”  and  at  another  that 
they  did,  because  they  were  all  wrong  ;  but  there  was  one  pecu¬ 
liarity  in  his  remarks,  and  that  was  that  the  prints  themselves 
never  (?)  were  the  cause  of  fading,  but  that  it  was  always  the 
mounts.  The  reason  why,  was  because  the  photographer  himself 
did  the  printing,  or  at  least  I  think  that  was  the  reason. 

Once  upon  a  time  the  printers  of  a  certain  photographic  estab¬ 
lishment  were  to  be  let  off  at  two  p.m.  (it  was  a  holiday)  pro¬ 
viding  they  got  their  work  done,  and  as  a  natural  consequence 

15 


170 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


one  o’clock  came  before  they  were  aware  of  it,  and  so,  of  course, 
they  had  to  “rush  things”  to  get  done  at  two  o’clock,  and  when 
printers  decide  on  rushing  things  you  may  depend  upon  it  they 
can  do  it.  They  got  off  at  two  p.m.  of  course.  A  few  days 
afterwards  these  very  prints  were  spotted,  stained,  etc.,  and 
of  course  “the  boss”  wanted  to  know  how  they  got  in  that  con¬ 
dition,  and  he  asked  the  foreman-printer  about  it,  and  inquired 
as  to  whether  that  batch  of  prints  that  were  toned  on  the  last 
holiday  had  the  usual  amount  of  care  and  attention  given  to  them 
that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  giving  the  prints. 

The  printer,  of  course,  said  that  they  had,  and  suddenly  ex¬ 
claimed,  as  though  the  thought  had  just  entered  his  head : 

“Come  to  think  of  it,  I  was  very  particular  about  that  batch, 
because,  as  I  started  quite  early  (?)  to  tone,  I  had  plenty  of  time 
to  tone  them,  and  as  I  had  a  splendid  light  to  tone  by  I  liked  to 
see  how  nice  I  could  make  them  come  out !  But  why  do  you 
ask?”  he  innocently  inquired. 

The  photographer  then  told  him  about  the  prints,  and  while 
telling  him  about  it  he  happened  to  think  that  those' prints  were 
mounted  upon  some  new  card -mounts  which  he  had  received  on 
that  day,  and  being  mystified  about  it  he  at  once  laid  it  to  the 
mounts,  and  immediately  sent  them  back  to  the  bewildered  par¬ 
ties  of  whom  he  had  purchased  them,  and  as  he  had  no  more  trouble 
with  his  prints  he  probably  thinks  to  this  day  that  the  card- 
mounts  were  poor,  and  most  likely  he  is  a  strong  advocate  of  the 
idea  that  card-mounts  are  a  source  of  fading. 

FAILURES  IN  FINISHING. 

Color  mixed  badly,  absence  of  gum  arabic  in  the  color,  prints 
rolled  badly. 

Encaustic  paste  made  wrong,  daubed-up  card-mounts,  ridges 
on  the  surface  of  the  prints,  etc.  (See  Chapter  XXVIII,  Part  I.) 


Part  III. 


PORCELAIN  PRINTING. 

CHAPTER  I. 

SELECTION  OF  THE  PORCELAIN  PLATES. 

Porcelain  printing  is  the  most  difficult  of  the  three  parts  de¬ 
scribed  in  this  book  both  to  the  experienced  and  to  the  inex¬ 
perienced  printer.  I  think  that  if  the  advice  which  I  will  give 
in  the  following  chapters  is  faithfully  carried  out  that  the  diffi¬ 
culty  will  entirely  disappear. 

The  foundation  of  porcelain  printing  depends  upon  obtaining 
fine  porcelain  plates,  which  is  by  no  means  an  easy  thing  to  do. 
A  little  advice  as  to  the  kind  of  glass  the  beginner  should  select 
will  perhaps  be  of  value. 

In  the  first  place  go  to  a  respectable  stockdealer,  one  who  under¬ 
stands  his  business,  for  none  other  than  such  a  one  would  be 
likely  to  keep  a  good  stock,  especially  if  he  picked  out  his  goods 
himself. 

Do  not  accept,  in  the  hopes  of  making  a  great  bargain,  porce¬ 
lain-glass  which  may  be  offered  to  you  at  a  great  discount.  Be¬ 
ware  of  such  dealers,  for  you  may  be  certain  that  the  glass  is  poor, 
else  they  could  command  and  get  good  prices  for  it.  Generally 
the  stockdealers  purchase  it  in  a  large  quantity  and  sell  it  in  that 
way,  and  then  they  do  not  know  what  class  of  plates  the  contents 
of  their  packages  may  contain,  but  be  certain  of  one  thing,  they 
never  pay  poor  prices  for  good  glass,  and  when  they  buy  cheaply, 
they  know  about  what  they  have  got.  Then  again,  photogra¬ 
phers  look  over  the  porcelain -glass,  and  pick  out  the  best  plates, 
when  they  go  after  it  themselves,  but  when  they  send  for  them 
they  get  what  is  left  after  the  pickings. 


172 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


There  are  various  sizes  of  plates  which  the  beginner  should 
provide  himself  with,  and  all  of  these  sizes  are  either  ground  or 
polished,  as  you  may  desire  to  have.  The  ground  plates  are  in¬ 
tended  to  be  used  when  the  porcelain  is  to  be  worked  up  either 
in  water  colors  or  in  oil;  the  polished  plates  more  for  uncolored 
work. 

The  sizes  are  known  as  the  11x14,  8x10,  6 y,  x8}4,  and  *4, 

The  larger  of  the  plates  are  sometimes  “extra  thick,” 
although  those  of  ordinary  thickness  are  more  used,  partly  on  ac¬ 
count  of  the  difficulty  of  cutting  the  “extra  thick”  when  neces¬ 
sary,  but  principally  because  they  are  more  expensive. 

In  selecting  your  plates  see  that  they  are  flat,  and  if  there  is  a 
side  that  is  convex  then  see  if  the  surface  of  the  glass  is  smooth, 
for  that  is  the  side  of  the  two  which  is  to  be  used  to  print  on. 
if  the  convex  side  of  the  plate  is  not  smooth  but  rough,  as  it  will 
be  if  it  is  not  polished  properly,  then  reject  it. 

To  determine  whether  the  glass  is  flat  or  not  hold  it  up  before 
you,  and  look  along  the  edges  of  both  its  length  and  width.  If 
the  plate  is  a  little  uneven,  and  you  think  that  by  a  little  care  you 
can  so  arrange  it  on  the  printing-board  that  perfect  contact  will 
come  between  the  negative  and  plate,  then  save  it. 

Another  thing  in  selecting  the  plates  is  to  see  if  they  are  thick, 
which  is  very  important,  especially  for  anything  larger  than  a 
half  size,  for  thin  porcelain  plates  often  break  from  their  own 
weight  alone  ;  in  fact,  always  use  the  best  plates — selected  as  per 
advice  given  above — that  you  can  obtain,  and  one  good  step 
towards  success  will  be  taken. 


CHAPTER  II. 

CLEANING  OF  THE  PORCELAIN  PLATES. 

C/f aning  New  Plates. — Wash  the  plates  thoroughly  on  both 
sides  under  a  tap  of  water,  and  place  them  for  the  time  being  in 
a  rack  (see  Fig.  51). 

The  object  of  washing  them  first  is  to  remove  all  of  the  dirt 
which  may  happen  to  be  on  them. 


CLEANING  OF  THE  PORCELAIN  PLATES. 


173 


Now,  to  get  the  plates  “  chemically  clean,”  they  are  placed  in 
a  suitable  size  tray  of  photographic  ware,  which  contains  a  solu¬ 
tion  made  of  commercial  nitric  acid  one  ounce,  water  four  ounces. 
Let  them  remain  in  this  acid  bath  for  a  day  or  so,  and  then  they 
are  ready  to  be  removed  and  washed  for  albumenizing. 

Cleaning  Old  Plates. — For  the  purpose  of  cleaning  old  dirty 
plates  which  have  been  used  before,  whether  varnished  or  not, 
they  should  first  be  placed  in  a  bath  made  of  concentrated  lye 


Fig.  51. 


y\ 

/ 


one  pound,  water  one  gallon.  Let  them  remain  in  this  bath  until 
the  film  will  be  easily  removed  by  running  water,  which  will 
probably  be  in  a  day  or  so.  When  this  time  has  arrived,  then 
wash  well  under  the  tap  until  all  of  the  varnish  and  film  is  re¬ 
moved,  and  then  place  them  one  by  one  in  the  acid  bath  as  de¬ 
scribed  above.  Keep  the  old  plates  in  the  lye  until  all  of  the 
film  is  removed,  and  never  place  them  in  the  acid  until  that  time 
arrives. 

In  placing  the  plates  in  either  the  lye  or  acid  always  place  them 
in  as  above  said,  one  by  one,  so  as  to  allow  the  solution  to  pass 
over  one  plate  before  another  one  is  placed  on  it. 

Never  place  large  and  small  plates  in  the  same  solution  at  the 
same  time,  unless  all  of  the  large  plates  are  at  the  bottom  ;  for 
if  they  are  mixed  up,  first  large  and  then  small  ones,  the  weight 
of  the  upper  plates  will  cause  the  unevenly  supported  plates  below 
to  break,  and  it  is  also  a  very  difficult  thing  for  the  beginner  to 
take  them  out  when  so  mixed  up  without  breaking  a  number  of 
them. 

It  would  be  a  good  thing  to  lap  the  edges  of  one  plate  over 

15* 


174 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


another  in  the  solution,  as  the  solution  will  pass  between  the 
plates  better. 

Both  the  strength  of  the  lye  and  acid  will  need  to  be  renewed 
every  month  or  so. 

Before  placing  the  plates  in  either  the  lye  or  acid  solutions 
scrape  the  edges  of  them  together,  and  in  the  future  treatment  of 
them  you  will  most  probably  derive  a  benefit,  as  the  collodio- 
chloride  will  be  more  likely  to  keep  on  the-plate  during  the  toning, 
fixing,  etc. 

Ground  plates  are  generally  very  difficult  to  clean  even  if  the 
above  advice  is  strictly  followed  out,  and  I  very  often  clean  them 
after  they  are  removed  from  the  lye  and  washed,  and  while  still 
wet,  by  sprinkling  a  little  powdered  dmory  on  that  side  which  is 
to  be  used  for  printing,  and  grinding  the  surface  evenly  by  means 
of  a  flat  side  of  a  cork. 

Ground  plates  which  have  been  purchased,  and  are  unevenly 
ground,  can  thus  be  made  excellent  by  a  very  little  trouble. 

When  the  grinding  is  finished  wash  them  well  under  the  tap, 
and  place  them  for  a  day  or  so  in  the  acid  bath. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ALBUMENIZING  THE  PORCELAIN  PLATES. 

The  porcelain  plates  are  now  to  be  albumenized,  and  for  this 
purpose  procure  three  large  fresh  country  eggs,  which  you  are  to 
crack  and  carefully  let  the  albumen  (the  white  part)  into  a  large 
clean  china  bowl,  being  careful  not  to  let  any  of  the  yolk  (the 
yellow  part)  of  the  eggs  into  it,  and  if  by  accident  a  trifle  of  it 
should  get  in,  then  remove  all  traces  of  it  by  the  use  of  a  spoon. 

Pour  the  albumen  into  a  clean  graduate,  and  note  the  number 
of  ounces  of  albumen,  and  add  just  as  many  more  of  pure  water. 

The  eggs  should  average  an  ounce  of  pure  albumen  each.  Pour 
the  diluted  albumen  back  into  the  bowl,  and  then  place  in  it  a 
dozen  drops  of  strong  aqua  ammonia,  and  with  an  ordinary  egg- 
beater  beat  the  whole  up  to  as  stiff  a  froth  as  possible.  This 


ALB TJMENIZING  THE  PORCELAIN  PLATES. 


175 


should  be  well  and  carefully  done.  Let  settle  over  night,  cover¬ 
ing  the  bowl  over  with  a  glass.  In  the  morning  decant  the  solu¬ 
tion,  leaving  the  froth  in  the  bowl,  into  a  clean  bottle,  or  another 
bowl,  and  filter  what  you  need  into  a  thoroughly  clean  four- 
ounce  vial,  or  better  still  into  a  tiny  tea-urn,  which  has  a  nose 
leading  to  the  bottom  part  of  the  ware,  for  then  in  pouring  the 
solution  out  there  will  be  no  bubbles,  for  they  are  at  the  surface 
if  there  are  any  at  all. 

A  good  plan,  whether  you  may  have  the  toy  tea-urn  or  not,  is 
to  let  the  lower  part  of  the  funnel  rest  against  the' 
inside  of  the  vial  (Fig.  52),  thus  permitting  the  al¬ 
bumen  to  run  down  the  side,  breaking  the  fall  of 
the  filtered  solution,  and  thus  prevent  bubbles  from 
being  formed. 

Filter  through  one  or  two  thicknesses  of  good  fil¬ 
tering-paper,  and  if  the  albumen  is  not  clear,  then 
filter  until  it  is. 

Always  keep  enough  ammonia  in  the  solution  for 
it  to  continually  give  forth  a  slight  odor. 

I  have  recommended  the  albumen  solution  to  be  used  quite 
thick,  as  the  film  on  the  plate  will  not  be  near  so  likely  to  be 
removed  in  the  subsequent  operations  of  the  porcelain  print, 
which  is  so  very  troublesome  both  to  the  beginner  and  to  the 
“  old  hand.” 

The  plates  are  now  to  be  removed,  one  at  a  time  as  they  are 
wanted,  from  the  acid  and  held  up  to  the  light,  and  the  edges 
of  them  looked  at  to  determine  the  convex  side  of  them,  if  there 
is  any ;  but  if  there  is  not,  then  choose  the  best  of  the  two  sides, 
and  proceed  to  wash  thoroughly  under  the  tap,  rubbing  the  sides 
and  edges  of  the  glass  well  with  a  mat,  so  that  the  fingers,  which 
are  often  a  little  greasy  in  spite  of  your  precautions  to  the  con¬ 
trary,  may  not  come  into  contact  with  the  face  of  the  porcelain. 

Hold  the  glass  while  it  is  washing  by  the  edges,  or  extreme 
corners,  and  when  it  is  sufficiently  washed  take  it  out  of  the  dark¬ 
room  (where  you  albumenize  the  plates)  to  see  as  to  whether  it 
is  fit  to  be  albumenized,  and  if  it  is  then  give  it  a  final  rinse  with 
filtered  rain-water  (filtered  as  it  comes  from  the  tap),  and  then 
carefully  pour  the  albumen  solution  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
plate,  midway  between  the  two  corners,  and  let  it  flow  over  the 


17fi 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


plate,  first  to  the  upper  left-hand  corner,  then  to  the  upper  right, 
next  to  the  lower  left  (which  is  the  corner  by  which  the  plate 
should  be  held  ),  and  finally  carefully  pour  off  at  the  lower  right- 
hand  corner  into  another  bottle. 

Do  not  pour  on  but  a  little  more  albumen  than  what  will  cover 
the  plate,  and  before  using  again  the  small  quantity  that  may 
have  been  left  after  you  are  through  albumenizing,  it  should  be 
filtered. 

Now  place  the  plate  which  you  have  albumenized,  still  holding 
on  at  the  same  corner,  either  in  a  rack,  or  upon  two  nails  (see 
Fig.  3),  to  dry,  letting  the  drops  fall  upon  blotting-paper,  so  that 
their  fall  will  not  raise  a  cloud  of  dust.  Permit  the  plates  to  dry 
spontaneously. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MAKING  THE  PORCELAIN  COLLODION. 

I  will  below  give  a  formula  for  the  making  of  the  collodio- 
chloride  which  I  know  to  be  good,  having  used  it  for  more  than 
two  years,  and  I- can  truly  say  that  I  never  knew  a  batch  of  this 
collodion  to  fail  any  one  who  has  ever  used  it,  providing  it  was 
properly  mixed  in  the  making  of  it. 

If  the  porcelain  collodion  is  not  carefully  mixed  and  made,  it 
is  the  most  fickle  of  all  collodions. 

The  purest  of  chemicals  and  great  care  are  required,  both  in 
the  mixing  together  of  the  different  solutions  and  in  always  keep¬ 
ing  the  collodion  when  it  is  made  in  absolute  darkness,  else  it 
will  be  worthless,  for  if  it  is  exposed  to  the  light  it  will  become 
discolored,  and  a  chemical  action  is  commenced,  which  will,  in 
a  short  time,  render  it  as  worthless  as  so  much  dirty  water. 

For  this  reason  photographers,  to  guard  against  the  actinic 
light  getting  at  the  contents  of  the  bottle,  should  not  only  keep 
it  in  a  dark  place,  but  wrap  printed  and  untoned  pajier  around  it, 
so  that  every  part  of  the  bottle  will  be  covered  and  only  a  little 
of  the  neck  will  show ;  and  no  more  of  that  than  what  is  re¬ 
quired  for  the  purpose  of  pouring  the  contents  out,  so  as  not  to 


MAKING  THE  PORCELAIN  COLLODION. 


177 


have  the  collodion  to  touch  the  paper.  The  writer  generally 
uses  a  couple  of  thicknesses  of  yellow  envelope-paper. 

Another  thing  for  the  beginner  to  bear  in  mind  is  that  he 
should  always  mix  the  different  solutions,  in  the  making  of  the 
collodio-chloride,  a  drop  or  two  at  a  time,  and  no  more,  for  then 
the  solutions  will  be  more  likely  to  get  mixed  together  than  if 
you  were  to  pour  them  in  quicker.  As  a  rule,  always  bear  in 
mind  that  the  slower  the  solutions  are  mixed  together  the  longer 
time  will  the  collodion  keep  in  a  good  condition. 

Then  again,  always  handle  the  bottle  of  collodion  as  gently  as 
possible,  so  as  not  to  shake  the  contents  any  more  than  is  really 
necessary. 

Mix  the  solutions  in  the  order  given  below,  and  never  other¬ 
wise. 

When  ready  to  make  the  collodion,  first  proceed  to  make  up 
four  solutions,  which  will  be  stock,  and  which  will  at  some  future 
time  enable  you  to  make  up  more  collodion  in  a  short  time,  as 
you  will  only  have  to  take  a  certain  quantity  of  each  of  the  stock 
solutions  and  mix  them  together. 

A .  — Plain  Collodion . 

Alcohol,  950, . 7  ounces. 

Ether, . 9  “ 

Gun-cotton,.  .....  II 2  grains. 


B. — Silver  Solution. 

Nitrate  of  Silver,  ......  480  grains. 

Distilled  Water,  .  .  ....  1  ounce. 

C. — Calcium  Solution. 

Chloride  of  Calcium,  .  .  .  ,  .  128  grains. 

Alcohol,  950, . 4  ounces. 

D. — Citric  Acid  Solution. 

Citric  Acid . 128  grains. 

Alcohol,  95°, . 4  ounces. 

Label  each  of  these  bottles,  and  state  plainly  what  the  contents 
of  each  bottle  consists  of,  and  exactly  how  it  was  made,  in  fact, 
write  the  whole  formula  on  each  label. 


178 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


Obtain  a  ten-ounce  collodion-bottle  which  is  thoroughly  clean, 
and  rinse  it  out  with  a  little  ether.  Carefully  decant  eight  ounces 
of  A,  after  it  has  been  standing  for  a  few  days,  into  this  bottle, 
and  next  add  sixty-four  drops  of  B,  adding  but  two  or  three  drops 
at  a  time,  shaking  well  between  each  addition  to  prevent  the  sil¬ 
ver  from  precipitating. 

Now  add  in  the  same  way  four  drachms  of  C,  adding  two  drops 
at  a  time.  This  last  addition  is  the  most  important  of  all,  for  the 
moment  a  drop  of  this  is  added,  it  will  commence  to  turn  milky, 
and  chloride  of  silver  is  formed.  This  last  addition  should  be 
done  in  the  dark,  and  it  would  be  well  for  the  beginner  to  heed 
it ,  for  from  this  time  until  the  collodion  is  used  up,  the  bottle  should 
always  be  kept  in  the  dark.  Finally,  there  should  be  four  drachms 
of  D  added  in  the  same  manner  as  the  calcium. 

The  beginner  must  bear  in  mind  that  chloride  of  silver  is  far 
more  sensitive  to  the  light  than  nitrate  of  silver,  besides  giving  a 
softer,  finer,  and  more  delicate  print  than  the  latter. 

It  is  on  this  account  that  the  paper  which  is  used  in  the  posi¬ 
tive  process  is  salted  generally  with  chloride  of  ammonium,  al¬ 
though  chloride  of  barium  is  sometimes  used,  so  that  we  have  a 
paper  prepared  which,  when  floated  upon  a  bath  of  nitrate  of 
silver,  the  chloride  in  the  paper  will  take  up  from  the  bath  the 
silver  which  it  needs  and  form  chloride  of  silver,  which  will  print, 
as  before  said,  much  better  than  nitrate.  Now  the  same  thing  is 
the  case  in  the  making  of  the  collodio-chloride,  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  that  we  cannot  prepare  the  porcelain  plate  with  a  chloride 
as  in  the  case  of  the  paper,  neither  can  we  float  or  swab  the  plate 
successfully.  To  overcome  this,  we  make  a  collodio(n)-chloride 
which  will  in  its  composition  combine  all  of  the  nature  of  the 
albumen  or  the  plain  salted  paper  and  the  nitrate-bath.  The 
chloride  of  calcium,  in  conjunction  with  the  nitrate  of  silver  in 
the  collodion,  will  form  a  chloride  of  silver,  which  is  just  what  we 
wish.  The  plain  collodion  in  the  above  collodio(n)-chloride  is 
to  give  a  tough  body  (  when  viewed  in  one  direction)  to  the  solu¬ 
tion,  which  body  is  increased  or  diminished,  according  to  the 
number  of  grains  of  cotton  there  may  be  to  the  ounce  of  collo¬ 
dion,  and  to  prevent  it  from  getting  thicker  than  it  is  already  ; 
then  keep  this  plain  collodion,  as  well  as  the  collodio-chloride 
bottle,  tightly  corked. 


MAKING  THE  PORCELAIN  COLLODION. 


179 


The  nitrate  of  silver  in  the  above  solution  answers  the  place  of 
the  positive  nitrate  of  silver  bath,  and  the  chloride  of  calcium, 
which  is  the  chloride  I  always  use,  takes  the  place  of  the  chloride 
of  ammonium  in  the  paper,  and  the  chloride  of  silver  (which  is 
formed  by  the  nitrate  of  silver  and  the  chloride  of  calcium 
uniting)  in  the  collodion  is  the  same  as  the  chloride  of  silver 
which  is  formed  in  the  paper  when  floated  upon  the  nitrate  bath. 

To  get  a  richer  tone  to  the  freshly  silvered  paper,  as  well  as  to 
coagulate  the  albumen  and  prevent  the  solution  from  penetrating 
too  far  into  the  paper,  alum,  nitrate  of  ammonium  (  especially  the 
former),  are  generally  used,  and  to  get  a  richer  tone  in  the  col- 
lodio-chloride,  citric  acid  is  used  in  the  quantity  recommended 
above. 

In  place  of  using  the  chloride  of  calcium,  many  photographers 
use  the  chloride  of  lithium  or  strontium,  but  I  have  always  liked 
the  calcium  best,  although  I  cannot  say  that  I  have  giv&n  either 
of  the  above  (i.  e.,  lithium  or  strontium)  a  very  fair  trial.  The 
chloride  of  calcium,  however,  is  the  most  used  of  the  above- 
named  chlorides. 

When  the  collodion  is  well  made,  it  will  have  a  most  delicate 
pearly  whiteness  to  it,  which  is  the  most  beautiful  color  of  that 
kind  that  I  ever  saw. 

It  can  be  worked  with  good  results  in  a  day  after  it  is  made, 
but  it  is  in  fine  working  order  in  about  a  week.  I  have  used  it 
when  it  has  been  four  months  old,  and  with  the  exception,  in 
hot  weather,  of  a  very  slight  tinge  of  yellowness,  it  has  been  all 
right. 

If  porcelain  collodion  is  made  to  keep  for  a  long  time,  the 
greatest  pains  should  be  given  in  adding  the  silver  and  calcium 
to  the  collodion  so  as  to  have  it  properly  mixed.  It  should  be 
made  more  sensitive  in  winter  than  in  summer,  and  for  the  beau¬ 
tiful  imitation,  the  “photo-porcelain,”  it  would  be  better  if  the 
proportion  of  chloride  of  silver  were  six  grains  instead  of  eight, 
as  the  shadows  in  the  making  of  this  style  of  picture  are  more 
given  to  bronzing  than  in  the  real  porcelain,  but  for  the  porce¬ 
lain  itself  eight  grains  is  the  best. 


180 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


CHAPTER  V. 

COATING,  FUMING,  AND  DRYING  THE  PLATES. 

COATING. 

The  plate,  when  albumenized,  is  then  to  be  coated  with  the 
collodio-chloride. 

For  this  purpose,  take  the  plate  to  a  room  where  there  is  not 
too  much  white  light,  for  instance,  in  the  “dark-room,”  when 
the  door  is  slightly  opened.  Brush  away  the  dried  collodion 
film  and  whatever  dust  there  may  be  around  the  cork,  being 
careful  not  to  shake  the  contents  of  the  bottle  while  doing  so. 

Hold  the  plate  with  the  left  hand,  level  to  the  floor,  having 
hold  of  the  lower  left-hand  corner,  and  take  up  the  bottle  of  col¬ 
lodion  in  the  right,  and  remove  the  cork  with  the  teeth,  if  you 
have  previously  neglected  to  do  so. 

Pour  the  collodion  at  the  centre  of  the  upper  part  of  the  plate 
until  that  half  is  covered,  and  then  discontinue.  Let  the  collo¬ 
dion  flow  over  to  the  corners  of  the  plate  as  I  have  recommended 
in  Albumenizing  the  Plate  (see  Chapter  III,  Part  III),  and  when 
the  collodion  is  ready  to  be  poured  from  the  plate,  take  up 
another  collodion  bottle  (which  should  be  kept  expressly  for  this 
particular  purpose)  and  let  the  collodion  flow  into  that. 

There  is  a  knack  in  doing  this,  which  consists  in  letting  the 
plate  lie  almost  level  to  the  floor  until  the  greater  part  of  the  col¬ 
lodion  has  flowed  into  the  bottle,  then  the  plate  is  raised  more 
perpendicular,  and  gently  rocked  sideways,  so  as  to  prevent  par¬ 
allel  lines  forming  in  the  direction  of  the  corner  from  which  it 
was  flowed,  which  it  would  do  if  precautions  were  not  taken  to 
prevent  it. 

If  the  collodion  is  flowed  from  the  plate  too  quickly,  it  will  be 
too  thick  on  the  bottom  of  the  plate,  and  if  the  rocking  of  the 
plate  is  not  commenced  before  the  collodion  has  begun  to  set, 
the  parallel  lines  will  show  in  spite  of  all  the  subsequent  rocking. 
In  drying,  however,  it  will  about  all  disappear. 

If  the  plate  is  properly  coated,  it  will  have  an  even  layer  of 


COATING,  FUMING ,  AND  DRYING  THE  PLATES.  181 


collodion  all  over  the  surface,  and  will  not  be  at  all  “streaky,” 
but  on  the  contrary  very  smooth. 

Flow  close  to  the  edges  and  corners  of  the  plate,  being  careful 
that  it  does  not  run  over  the  sides.  Do  not  remove  the  collo¬ 
dion  which  may  be  a  little  thick  along  the  sides  nearest  the  cor¬ 
ner  at  which  it  was  poured  off,  as  it  will  be  a  great  aid  in  keep¬ 
ing  the  collodion  from  “  peeling  off.” 

Keep  gently  rocking  the  plate  until  the  collodion  is  thoroughly 
set,  which  is  easily  determined  by  placing  the  finger  gently  at  the 
corner  from  which  it  was  poured  off,  and  if  the  collodion  does 
not  adhere,  but  leaves  a  mark  of  the  impression  of  the  finger, 
then  you  may  know  that  the  film  is  set. 

FUMING. 

The  plate,  while  still  moist,  is  to  be  fumed.  This  can  be  done 
in  the  ordinary  fuming-box.  Hang  up  the  plate  by  one  of  its 
corners  to  a  spring  nipper,  and  place  three  or  four  drachms  of  the 
strongest  aqua  ammonia  in  a  saucer,  which  saucer  is  placed  under 
the  plate,  on  the  bottom  of  the  box.  Fume  from  two  to  three 
minutes,  and  no  more,  and  then  the  plate  is  ready  to  be  removed. 

DRYING. 

This  should  be  done  by  gentle  heat.  The  plate  should  be  stood 
up,  by  support  of  a  side  of  the  negative  oven,  on  one  of  its  cor¬ 
ners,  and  the  door  is  closed.  This  oven  should  be  heated  with 
a  tiny  jet  of  gas  which  is  capital  for  the  purpose. 

When  the  plate  is  dry,  which  it  will  be  in  a  very  few  minutes, 
then  remove  it  immediately,  and  set  it  away  in  a  cool  place  until 
it  cools. 

If  the  plate  is  permitted  to  get  too  hot,  then  the  heat  will  cook 
the  albumen,  also  collodion,  and  it  will  cause  the  film  to  be  ruined 
before  you  have  even  commenced  to  print  on  it,  turning  it  to  a 
very  yellow  color.  Watch  the  plate  while  it  is  in  the  oven,  so 
that  you  will  not  forget  it  and  have  the  above-named  ruinous  re¬ 
sults  occur.  It  would  perhaps  be  better  for  the  beginner  to  hold 
the  back  of  the  plate  for  a  minute  or  so  in  front  of  the  door  of  a 
hot  stove,  if  he  cannot  dry  it  in  the  oven  without  forgetting  and 
thus  baking  it.  Baking  may  be  a  good  thing  for  “the  staff  of 
life,”  but  it  is  not  particularly. so  forcollodionized  porcelain  plates. 

16 


182 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


Do  not  take  hold  of  the  plate,  if  it  should  happen  to  be  very 
hot,  either  with  wet,  damp,  or  very'cold  fingers,  as  the  plate  will 
be  liable  to  break. 


CHAP  T  E  R  VI. 


PORCELAIN  PRINTING-]!* )ARL)S. 


For  the  purpose  of  printing  the  porcelain  successfully,  different 
printing-boards  have  been  invented,  which  are  constructed  in  a 
different  style  from  the  ordinary  negative-boards  or  frames. 

Those  which  are  now  generally  used  are  known  by  the  name 
of  “Jacoby’s  Porcelain  Printing-frames.”  Use  them,  viz.: 

First  it  is  necessary  that  a  good  sharp  negative  is  had,  then 
loosen  the  thumb-screw  on  the  hinged  clamp  at  the  bottom  of 
the  frame,  place  the  negative  in  the  clamp  so  as  to  rest  on  the 
wood  at  the  sides  of  the  padded  bed,  then  fasten  by  the  thumb¬ 
screw  so  as  not  to  move  out  of  position.  The  strips  that  rest  on 
the  edge  of  the  negative  at  the  sides  are  for  vignetting  the  picture. 
Cut  a  piece  of  cardboard  the  size  that  will  slip  in  the  small 
grooves,  with  a  hole  in  the  size  you  want. 

After  placing  the  negative  as  above,  take  a  piece  of  strong 
paper  and  put  it  in  the  clamp  as  before, 
then  put  some  mucilage  or  wax  in  the 
centre,  lay  your  porcelain  plate  in  the 
position  you  want  it,  then  throw  the  wire 
loops  toward  each  other.  This  will 
make  room  for  the  plate  between  the 
bed  and  the  negative.  If  it  does  not 
fill  up  the  space,  the  four  set-screws  at 
the  back  of  the  frame  will  make  it  vary 
just  to  fit ;  then  print  as  in  any  other  way. 

In  printing  the  porcelain  photograph  care  should  be  used  not 
to  print  too  long  when  separated,  and  that  the  space  should  not 
be  too  much.  For  heads  one  inch  in  size  the  space  should  be 
about  one-twelfth  or  one-sixteenth  inch,  and  less  for  small  ones. 
Three  inch  heads  should  be  three  and  one-sixteenth  or  one-quarter 
inch,  and  in  all  cases  the  negative  must  rest  on  the  wood  at  the 


Fig.  53. 


PLACING  THE  SENSITIVE  PLATE  FOR  PRINTING.  183 


sides  of  the  frame  ;  for  when  you  would  separate  the  negative, 
the  negative  would  follow  the  bed,  and  not  give  any  space,  and, 
of  course,  spoil  the  picture.  Printing  should  always  be  done  in 
the  shade  or  under  tissue-paper. 

The  “  Jacoby  Frames’’  are  excellent  in  all  their  parts,  being 
so  made  as  to  secure  perfect  contact  between  the  negative  and 
porcelain,  however  uneven  they  both  may  be. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PLACING  THE  SENSITIVE  PLATE  ON  THE  BOARD  FOR 

PRINTING. 

I  will  only  describe  how  the  plate  and  negative  are  arranged 
for  printing  on  one  kind  of  board,  viz.,  “  Jacoby’s  Porcelain 
Printing-frame.” 

First  darken  the  room  by  pulling  down  the  curtains,  and  take 
the  printing-board  to  the  darkest  part  of  the  room,  away  from  the 
window,  but  not  in  such  a  dark  place  that  you  will  experience 
any  difficulty  in  seeing. 

Loosen  the  screw  which  loosens  the  narrow  strip  of  wood,  as 
seen  in  the  printing-frame  (Fig.  53).  Place  the  edge  of  the  por¬ 
celain  plate  under  this  strip  of  wood,  being  sure  that  the  collo- 
dionized  side  is  uppermost,  and  fasten  the  wood  to  it  by  the  same 
screw.  The  porcelain  plate  will  then  be  held  firmly. 

If  the  plate  is  a  smaller  one  than  is  really  intended  for  the  size 
frame  which  you  may  have,  as  a  one-half  size  plate,  and  you  may 
not  have  but  this  one  8x10  board,  you  cannot  place  the  edge  of 
one  of  the  sides  of  the  porcelain  under  the  bar,  because  then  you 
cannot  manage  the  negative  so  that  the  porcelain  can  be  advan¬ 
tageously  printed. 

In  that  case  fasten  the  negative  to  the  frame,  as  will  presently 
be  shown,  and  place  the  porcelain  plate  at  the  place  you  wish  it, 
/. e. ,  as  near  as  you  can  at  present  tell,  and  hold  the  negative  over 
the  plate  by  means  of  the  woodwork,  at  about  a  half  inch  from  it, 
and  move  the  porcelain  so  that  it  will  occupy  the  exact  place  you 
wish  it  to,  and  then  lay  back  the  negative  carefully,  so  as  not  to 
move  the  porcelain  in  doing  so.  Now  obtain  some  beeswax,  and 


184 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


place  a  bit  on  the  board  close  to  all  of  the  sides  of,  but  pressed 
against,  the  porcelain.  Hold  the  porcelain  firmly  by  the  opposite 
side  whenever  you  press  on  a  particular  side,  and  you  will  prevent 
it  from  being  moved.  In  placing  this  wax  there  be  sure  that  you 
get  none  of  it  on  the  face  of  the  porcelain,  nor  should  you  allow 
the  wax  to  remain  above  the  level  of  the  surface  of  the  plate,  but 
considerably  below  it,  for  you  must  remember  that  the  face  of 
the  negative  is  coming  into  close  contact  with  the  porcelain,  and 
if  the  above  is  not  strictly  followed  out  the  porcelain  will  not 
only  move  when  you  raise  the  negative,  but  the  negative  will  he 
spoiled. 

The  negative  is  then  fastened  in  a  slit  made  in  the  bar  pro¬ 
vided  in  the  printing-frame.  This  bar  is  easily  turned  back  when 
it  is  required  by  means  of  a  hinge,  and  the  level  of  it  is  raised 
higher  or  let  down  lower,  as  you  may  require  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  the  negative  and  porcelain  in  close  contact.  This  is 
aided  by  another  bar  which  is  held  in  position  by  thumb-screws 
whenever  it  is  finally  fixed  in  its  proper  position. 

When  you  are  ready  to  place  the  negative  in  the  frame  first 
loosen  the  screws,  place  the  negative  in  the  place  intended  for  it 
in  the  bar,  tighten  the  screws,  and  lay  it  on  to  the  porcelain, 
and  it  will  then  assume  its  proper  place,  when  it  is  pressed  in 
contact  by  the  hand.  Now  fasten  the  screws,  and  be  sure  that 
they  are  tightened  during  all  the  printing.  The  springs  are  then 
placed  on  to  the  negative,  and  the  porcelain  is  ready  for  printing. 

To  examine  the  print  move  the  clamp  springs,  and  raise  the 
negative  by  the  bar,  and  not  by  taking  hold  of  the  negative  itself. 

Further  directions  are  given  by  Mr.  Jacoby  with  each  frame. 
Scovill  Manufacturing  Co.  make  them,  and  all  dealers  sell  them. 


CHAP  T  E  R  VII  I. 

PRINTING  VIGNETTE  PORCELAINS. 

For  the  purpose  of  printing  a  vignette  porcelain  a  block  is 
made  similar  to  those  which  have  been  described  in  Part  1.  The 
block  should  have  a  pasteboard  fastened  to  it,  upon  which  the 
clamping  springs  of  the  porcelain  board  can  be  fastened,  which 


PRINTING  MEDALLION  PORCELAINS. 


185 


will  then,  besides  keeping  the  porcelain  and  the  negative  in  close 
contact,  also  hold  the  vignette-block  in  its  place. 

The  same  attention  is  required  in  vignetting  porcelains  as  is 
necessary  in  printing  positives  on  paper  ;  so  choose  a  suitable 
vignette- block,  and  cover  it  with  tissue-paper  before  placing  the 
porcelain  out  to  print. 

In  case  the  background  is  a  poor  one  it  should  be  taken  out, 
as  has  been  explained  in  Part  II,  Chapter  VI,  the. only  difference 
between  the  two  being,  in  one  the  print  is  on  paper,  whereas 
here  it  is  on  porcelain. 

I  have  very  often  taken  out  faulty  backgrounds,  and  have 
printed  in  fine  ones,  and  the  result  has  often  been  very  satisfac¬ 
tory  to  me,  for  theyTooked  very  fine,  and  also  as  if  it  was  the 
original  background. 

When  the  high-lights  of  the  face  of  the  printed  porcelain  are 
too  blanky  they  should  be  toned  down  by  exposure  to  the  light 
for  a  couple  of  seconds  or  so,  which  is  best  done  by  obtaining. a 
suitable  piece  of  a  dark  or  opaque  paper,  and,  tearing  a  piece  out 
of  it,  leaving  a  hole  which  should  be  full  as  large  as  the  place  to 
be  tinted.  (See  Fig.  36.)  Hold  it  out  in  the  light,  and  keep 
the  paper  in  constant  motion  while  there,  so  that  there  will  not 
be  any  harsh  edges. 


CHAPTER  I X. 

PRINTING  MEDALLION  PORCELAINS. 

Perhaps  some  of  my  readers  will  say  that  this  style  of  porce¬ 
lain  picture  is  never  printed,  but  allow  me  to  say  to  the  contrary, 
for  I  have  very  often  seen  very  good  results  obtained  with  this 
style  of  printing,  and  which,  on  account  of  their  novelty,  was 
very  pleasing. 

When  you  have  an  old  negative,  and  there  is  a  porcelain 
wanted  from  it,  then  it  can  sometimes  be  printed  in  a  medallion 
very  nicely,  especially  when  the  draperies  are  very  black,  and 
the  background  is  also  very  dark,  both  of  which  are  very  trouble¬ 
some  in  vignetting  to  obtain  fine  feathering  to  the  halos. 

Ifi* 


186 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


These  medallion  porcelain  prints  look  very  pretty  when  the 
porcelain  to  be  printed  is  to  be  of  a  small  size,  as  a  ^  size  plate, 
but  for  anything  larger  than  that  size  we  do  not  like  them  at  all. 

When  the  medallion  style  of  porcelain  printing  is  made  it 
should  be  put  up  in  a  square  opening,  either  in  the  now  fashion¬ 
able  gilt  easel,  or  in  the  more  sober-looking  passepartout. 

To  print  these  porcelains  in  the  medallion  style  you  should 
follow  out  all  of  the  particulars  that  have  been  fully  explained 
in  a  chapter  devoted  to  that  in  Part  I,  viz.,  Medallion  and  Arch¬ 
top  Printing.  Place  the  right  side  of  the  mask  (background)  at 
its  proper  place  on  the  face  of  the  negative,  and  then  place  the 
porcelain  out  to  the  diffused  rays  of  the  sunlight  to  print.  Now 
print  the  crescent  line  on  it,  as  you  would  do  with  a  paper  print. 
Do  not  tint  the  outside  very  dark,  a  neutral  shade  between  the 
background  and  the  shaded  crescent  line  being  about  right. 

In  placing  the  mask  on  the  porcelain  to  shade  the  line  be  very 
careful  that  you  do  not  scratch  the  film,  for  it  is  very  tender. 


CHAPTER  X. 

WASHING  THE  PORCELAINS. 

The  porcelain  when  printed,  and  the  high-lights  tinted  a  trifle 
(if  they  need  if),  is  then  ready  to  be  washed  and  toned,  which 
had  better  be  done  as  soon  as  printed. 

Take  the  porcelain  and  go  into  the  toning-room  and  arrange 
the  light  so  that  it  will  not  be  too  strong,  and  whatever  further 
operations  you  may  do  to  the  porcelain,  before  you  are  through 
with  it,  should  be  done  away  from  the  window,  especially  in  the 
toning  of  it,  as  will  be  presently  shown.  Now  take  a  four-ounce 
vial,  partly  filled  with  good  alcohol  (not  necessarily  95  per  cent.), 
and  before  you  wash  the  porcelain  a  particle  with  water  you  should 
flow  the  contents  of  this  vial  over  the  prints,  say  half  a  dozen 
times,  or  until  the  print  has  turned  a  beautiful  red  color,  which 
it  will  do  in  a  very  few  minutes. 

In  pouring  the  alcohol  on  the  plate,  do  not  pour  it  always  on 


WASHING  THE  PORCELAINS. 


187 


one  place,  but  at  a  different  one  each  time,  and  be  sure  that  the 
alcohol  flows  over  all  parts  of  the  porcelain  plate  at  the  first  flow, 
or  else  a  harsh  edge  will  be  the  result,  which  sometimes  does  not 
disappear  in  the  final  washings  either  with  the  alcohol  or  the 
water,  although  it  may  be  said  that  this  occurs  very  seldom.  Do 
not  keep  pouring  on  the  alcohol  until  the  porcelain  has  turned  a 
vellowish-red  color,  for  this  is  very  objectionable,  and  you  may 
set  it  down  as  a  rule  when  this  color  appears,  then  the  strength 
of  the  print  is  fast  disappearing. 

When  the  print  has  turned  a  rich  and  warm  color,  which,  if  it 
has  not  been  fumed  too  long,  it  will  do  in  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
seconds,  the  plate  is  ready  to  be  washed  tolerably  well  under  a’ 
tap  of  rain-water. 

At  first  the  film  will  repel  the  water,  owing  to  its  being  soaked 
with  alcohol,  but  in  a  couple  of  minutes  or  so  the  water  will  run 
smoothly  over  it.  In  the  winter  the  plate  had  better  be  washed 
with  lukewarm  (no  warmer)  water,  and  never  think  of  such  a 
thing  ( much  less  acting  upon  it)  as  washing  the  porcelain  with 
ice-cold  water. 

In  placing  the  plate  under  the  tap  to  wash,  do  not  permit  too 
large  a  stream  of  water  to  flow  on  it,  for  you  must  remember  that 
the  film  will  be  more  likely  to  slide  off  the  plate  if  the  water 
should  manage  to  get  a  little  under  a  corner  with  a  large  and 
heavy  stream  than  it  would  with  a  small  one.  Do  not  let  the 
water  fall  all  of  the  time  at  one  place  on  the  plate,  but  move  it 
so  that  it  will  fall  at  different  parts  of  the  plate,  and  as  this  wash¬ 
ing  does  not  require  more  than  four  or  five  minutes  at  the  most, 
the  beginner  had  better  hold  the  plate  in  his  hand  during  the 
whole  time  of  washing,  as  the  result  will  probably  be  better. 

A  good  way  to  tell  when  the  plate  is  sufficiently  washed  is  to 
taste  a  drop  or  two  of  the  water  which  has  drained  last  from  the 
plate,  after  it  is  removed  from  the  flow  of  the  pipe,  and  also  after 
the  plate  has  washed  awhile,  and  if  you  do  not  taste  any  of  the 
silver,  you  can  conclude  that  the  plate  is  washed  plenty. 

An  acetic  acid  wash,  for  the  porcelains,  is  not  a  very  good 
thing  compared  with  alcohol,  as  a  trial  of  the  two  will  prove. 


/ 


188  the  PRACTICAL  PR  LX  TER. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

TONING  THE  PORCELAIN. 

Make  up,  while  your  porcelain  is  printing,  a  toning  solution 
as  recommended  below,  so  that  it  will  have  a  chance  to  ripen 
before  it  is  required. 

The  toning  solution  for  porcelains,  as  well  as  for  prints,  should 
have  a  chance  to  get  ripe  before  it  is  used,  and  it  should  there¬ 
fore  be  made  up  at  least  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  before  it  is 
wanted.  Take  a  clean  six-ounce  wide-mouth  vial,  and  let  fall 
about  fifteen  drops  of  a:  stock  solution  of  chloride  of  gold  into  it, 
said  stock  solution  being  one  grain  of  gold  to  the  ounce  of  water. 
Place  in  it  a  piece  of  litmus-paper,  which  will  turn  red,  and  add 
drop  by  drop  of  a  saturated  solution  of  bicarbonate  of  soda  to  it 
until  the  paper  will  turn  a  little  blue,  shaking  the  bottle  in  the 
meantime.  Now  add  about  four  ounces  of  filtered  rain-water, 
and  shake  well. 

Cover  it  up  with  a  piece  of  glass,  and  let  it  stand  for  about  five 
minutes  in  the  sunlight,  and  then  place  it  in  the  toning-room 
until  ready  for  use.  In  winter,  and  often  in  the  summer,  it  is 
an  excellent  plan  to  slightly  warm  the  toning  solution,  and  allow 
it  to  cool  to  a  lukewarm  state.  The  object  of  this  is  to  make 
it  tone  more  quickly,  and  also  better  than  it  would  with  a  cold 
toning  solution. 

I  have  advised  to  make  the  toning  solution  in  a  bottle  for  the 
purpose  of  “  toning  by  hand,”  but  I  should  advise  the  beginner 
to  make  up  the  solution  in  a  dish,  for  instance,  a  quarter  size, 
and  tone  in  that. 

If  you  tone  by  hand  never  pour  the  solution  twice  on  the  same 
place,  but  at  different  places,  and  these  places  should  be  in  the 
shadows ,  and  not  in  the  face,  for  uneven  toning  will  often  be  the 
result,  the  high-lights  and  half-tints  toning  a  little  quicker  where 
it  is  poured  on  a  number  of  times  than  it  does  elsewhere  ;  on  the 
whole,  it  is  better  not  to  pour  it  on  the  printed  picture  at  all, 
but  on  various  parts  of  the  margin  of  the  porcelain,  providing  it 
can  be  so  done. 


FIXING  THE  PORCELAIN. 


189 


In  toning  the  porcelain  in  a  dish,  keep  it  constantly  under  the 
surface  of  the  solution,  and  keep  a  slight  motion  to  the  toning 
solution  constantly. 

The  light  for  toning  is  a  matter  of  considerable  importance, 
for  this,  and  this  alone,  is  in  by  far  the  majority  of  cases  the  sole 
cause  of  overtoning ,  because  we  tone  our  porcelains  to  what  we 
think  to  be  the  right  tint,  toning  in  a  strong  light,  and  conse¬ 
quently  when  the  porcelain  is  fixed  we  find  that  “it  is  over¬ 
toned.” 

You  should  tone  in  a  weak  light,  and  only  until  the  high-lights 
and  half-tints  of  the  face  commence  to  look  a  trifle  blue,  at  which 
time  the  porcelain  is  toned,  and  the  solution  is  to  be  washed  im¬ 
mediately  off. 

If  you  were  to  examine  a  porcelain,  as  toned  in  a  weak  light, 
in  a  very  much  stronger  one,  it  will  appear  to  be  undertoned, 
but  it  is  not,  and  the  beginner  will  do  well  to  remember  that  a 
porcelain  cannot  be  toned  as  much  as  you  would  a  paper  print, 
for  it  would  be  very  much  overtoned. 

Considerable  experience  is  required  to  tone  them  properly, 
and  “  to  keep  your  hand  in  ”  you  should  make  them  frequently. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

FIXING  THE  PORCELAIN. 

The  porcelain,  when  toned,  and  the  toning  washed  off  the 
plate,  is  then  to  be  fixed  as  you  would  do  with  a  paper  print, 
viz.,  with  a  weak  solution  of  hyposulphite  of  soda. 

The  strength  of  the  hypo  is  generally  weaker  than  is  used  for 
fixing  paper  prints,  and  a  little  thinking  by  the  beginner  will 
enable  him  at  once  to  see  that  it  is  not  required  to  be  as  strong. 

In  the  case  of  the  paper  print,  the  silver  often  sinks  far  into 
the  albumen,  and  when  the  paper  has  been  floated  too  long  a 
time,  say  four  or  five  minutes,  as  has  been  recommended  by 
some,  the  silver  often  sinks  through,  and  into  the  bibulous  paper 
beneath  the  albumen. 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRIXTER. 


190 

When  a  paper  print  is  placed  in  the  fixing  bath,  a  stronger  so¬ 
lution  is  required  than  what  would  suffice  for  the  fixing  of  a  por¬ 
celain,  because  it  has  got  to  penetrate  through  the  mere  surface 
of  the  albumen,  and  far  into  it  on  one  side;  and  through  the 
back  of  the  paper  to  the  albumen,  and  also  a  little  into  that  on 
the  other,  and  there  do  its  work,  which  it  will  thoroughly  do  if 
the  prints  are  moved  about  sufficiently,  and  are  permitted  to  re 
main  in  the  bath  long  enough.  It  is  not  an  easy  thing  for  the 
hypo  solution  to  penetrate  into  the  albumen  anyhow,  but  it  is 
done  much  better  with  a  weak  solution  and  a  longer  time  of  fix¬ 
ing,  than  it  is  with  a  strong  solution  and  a  shorter  time  for 
fixing.  The  albumen  is  a  substance  that  is  not  the  easiest  thing 
in  the  world  to  wet  with  water,  yet  if  the  temperature  of  the 
water  is  bloodworm  it  will,  in  a  short  time,  penetrate  quite  away 
into  the  paper,  at  least  as  far  as  the  silver  solution  penetrated 
during  the  sensitizing  of  it. 

Now,  in  the  case  of  the  porcelain  print,  all  of  the  penetrating 
of  the  solution  is  done  on  one  side  of  the  porcelain,  and  through 
something  that  is  more  easily  penetrated  through  than  what  albu¬ 
men  is,  and  a  considerably  weaker  solution  is  used  in  this  case, 
as  has  before  been  said  ;  and  as  regards  the  tone,  it  is  much  better 
than  it  would  be  if  a  stronger  solution  than  what  is  recommended 
below  were  to  be  used. 

You  might  say  that  we  can  use  a  stronger  solution  and  fix 
quicker,  but  as  sure  as  you  do  it  the  tone  will  be  spoiled,  and  bleach¬ 
ing  will  be  the  result. 

Make  up  the  bath  as  follows : 

Sat.  Sol.  Hyposulphite  of  Soda,  .  .  .  I  ounce. 

Clean  Rain-water,  .  .  .  .  .  .12  ounces. 

Sat.  Sol.  Bicarbonate  of  Soda,  .  .  .  y£  ounce. 

Fix  in  a  weak  light,  but  not  quite  so  weak  as  was  recommended 
in  the  toning;  fix  five  minutes,  or  until  the  face  of  the  porcelain 
turns  clear  in  tone,  after  the  hypo  has  once  turned  it  cloudy, 
which  it  will  do  the  moment  the  print  is  placed  in  the  bath. 

The  porcelain  print  undergoes  a  variety  of  changes  in  the  fix 
ing  bath,  often  immediately  turning  a  peculiar  green,  as  disagree¬ 
able  in  looks  as  it  is  peculiar,  and  the  longer  the  plate  is  kept  in 
the  bath  the  worse  it  seems  to  look. 


FINAL  WASHING  OF  THE  PORCELAIN. 


191 


Then  again  it  turns  yellow,  and  stays  so  too,  which  is  often  a 
sure  sign  of  undertoning,  and  if  it  turns  slate  blue  or  a  forced 
brown  color,  then  this  is  often  a  sure  sign  of  overtoning.  There 
are,  however,  a  number  of  things  to  take  into  consideration, 
which  will  be  treated  of  in  Chapter  XVI. 

To  tell  when  a  porcelain  is  fixed  you  should  permit  it  to  remain 
in  the  fixing  bath  until  the  tone  to  which  you  have  toned  it  re¬ 
turns,  and  then  if,  on  close  examination,  the  face  is  seen  to  be 
clear,  then  the  plate  is  fixed  ;  if  it  is  not  clear,  let  it  remain  in 
the  bath  until  it  is. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FINAL  WASHING  OF  THE  PORCELAIN. 

The  porcelain  when  fixed  is  then  to  receive  the  final  washing, 
which  will  render  the  plate  free  from  any  destroying  agent  that 
will  cause  the  print  to  fade,  at  least  so  far  as  anything  besides  the 
plate  itself  is  concerned. 

For  the  first  few  minutes  the  plate  is  carefully  washed  on  both 
sides  under  the  tap.  Rub  the  back  of  the  plate  with  one  hand, 
holding  it  with  the  other,  and  permitting  the  water  from  the  tap 
to  fall  not  to  heavy  on  the  face  of  it. 

Set  the  plate  under  the  tap  (say,  for  instance,  on  one  end  of 
an  empty  salt-box),  and  let  a  steady  stream  of  water  fall  upon  it, 
moving  it  at  times  so  that  the  water  will  fall  at  a  different  place 
every  five  minutes. 

After  the  plate  has  washed  half  an  hour  or  so,  then  soaking  the 
plate  in  a  salt-water  bath,  made  as  below  given,  is  an  excellent 
thing. 

Lukewarm  Water,  ......  I  gallon. 

Chloride  of  Sodium  (table  salt)  in  weight,  .  2  ounces. 

This  warm  salt-water  bath  will  enter  right  into  the  film,  and 
displace  within  five  minutes  all  of  the  hypo  that  is  left  in  the  film, 
after  the  washing  just  described. 

Let  the  plate  remain  in  this  bath  five  or  ten  minutes,  and  then 
soak  it  in  two  more  lukewarm  water  baths,  but  let  these  baths  be 


192 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


of  fresh  water.  Give  the  plate  a  quick  final  washing  under  the 
tap,  and  rinse  well. 

During  the  first  washing  of  the  plate,  the  tone  of  the  print 
often  changes,  which  will  be  fully  entered  into  in  Chapter  XVI, 
Part  III. 


CHAPTER  XI  V. 

DRYING  AND  TINTING  THE  PORCELAIN. 

DRYING. 

The  plate  can  either  be  dried  spontaneously  or  by  artificial 
heat,  as  the  printer  chooses.  Each  of  these  is  best  at  times,  as 
any  one  who  has  ever  printed  porcelain  pictures  knows. 

Drying  by  heat  makes  the  tone  bluer  than  it  would  be  if  it 
were  allowed  to  dry  without.  Then,  again,  if  the  porcelain  is 
to  be  dried  by  heat,  place  it  in  the  negative-oven,  permitting  it 
to  dry  gently.  Before  placing  it  in,  however,  wipe  out  the  oven 
with  a  damp  cloth  ;  and  in  drying  spontaneously,  hang  up  the 
plate  upon  two  nails  away  from  draughts,  which  may  cause  dust 
to  settle  upon  it. 

TINTING. 

In  tinting  the  cheeks  and  lips,  you  can  either  do  it  with  a  flesh 
wash,  or  by  dry  color.  The  latter  is  sometimes  applied  to  the 
cheeks  and  lips  of  the  porcelain  print  after  the  plate  is  varnished, 
because  in  varnishing  the  plate,  after  the  dry  color  is  applied  to 
it,  it  sometimes  comes  off  during  the  flowing  of  the  varnish  back 
into  the  bottle. 

If  the  plate  is  not  warmed  before  you  flow  the  varnish  on  it, 
and  is  dried  up  quickly,  the  color  will  not  disappear;  but  if  it 
is  warmed  before  varnishing,  it  will  surely  disappear. 

Proof:  Experience  in  varnishing  by  both  methods. 

The  object  in  first  warming  the  plate  before  varnishing  is  to 
prevent  it  from  getting  chilled  in  drying,  but  unless  it  is  very  cold 
indeed,  the  varnishing  and  drying  quickly  in  a  hot  oven  will  place 
a  splendid  gloss  on  the  plate. 


VARNISHING  THE  FORCE  RAIN. 


V.VA 

In  spotting,  mix  the  color  to  the  proper  tone,  being  sure  that 
you  also  have  gum  arabic  in  it  in  abundance. 

A  most  excellent  hit  is  to  color  the  hair  of  the  porcelain  print 
if  the  print  is  that  of  a  blonde — -either  before  or  after  varnishing, 
as  may  suit  the  printer — with  a  little  of  dry  yellow  color,  and  the 
effect  will  be  splendid. 


CHAPTER  X  V. 

VARNISHING  THE  PORCELAIN. 

The  porcelain,  when  tinted,  spotted,  and  the  high-lights  placed 
in  the  eyes  if  necessary,  is  then  to  receive  a  coat  of  varnish,  which 
will  in  a  great  measure  protect  the  film  from  injury. 

White  shellac-varnish  is  necessary  for  this,  because  the  common 
yellow  lac  will  spoil  the  pure  white  of  the  porcelain.* 

To  make  this  varnish,  first  obtain  three-quarters  of  a  pound  of 
good  white  shellac,  and  place  it  in  a  large  wide-mouth  bottle,  in 
which  there  has  been  placed  two  quarts  of  the  best  alcohol.  If 
you  are  in  a  hurry  for  thi^j  varnish,  you  should,  previous  to  plac¬ 
ing  it  in  the  bottle,  break  up  the  shellac  in  small  pieces,  placing 
it,  say  in  a  clean  rag,  and  pounding  it  with  a  hammer,  or  break 
it  in  a  mortar  with  a  pestle.  Shake  the  bottle  until  the  shellac 
is  dissolved,  and  if  you  should  see  a  sediment  on  the  bottom  that 
will  not  dissolve,  you  need  not  be  apprehensive  of  bad  results, 
because  it  does  not  all  dissolve,  for  this  is  only  the  impurities  in 
the  shellac,  and  can  be  filtered  out. 

As  the  beginner  can  probably  flow  better  from  a  small  bottle 
than  he  can  from  a  large  one,  I  should  advise  the  use  of  a  common 
collodion-vial,  which  will  hold  about  six  ounces,  and  which  should 
be  cleaned  thoroughly  both  on  the  outside  and  inside.  Into  this 
vial,  filter  through  a  couple  of  filtering-papers  sufficient  of  the 
varnish  to  fill  it  up,  and  you  will  find  the  liquid  to  be  of  a  pale 
golden  color. 

In  selecting  the  bottle,  choose  one  that  has  a  good  lip  to  it,  so 


*  This  varnish  can  very  nicely  be  used  in  the  varnishing  of  intense  negatives. 


194 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


that  when  you  varnish  the  plate  you  can  do  so  without  ‘‘daubing 
up  ”  the  bottle. 

Keep  the  outside  of  your  bottle  perfectly  free  from  varnish, 
and  try  to  keep  your  varnish-bottle  clean,  so  that  it  will  look 
well,  and  always  keep  it  covered  when  not  in  use,  by  laying  a 
piece  of  glass  over  it,  or  better  still,  a  ground-glass  stopper  if 
the  bottle  has  a  neck  made  for  it,  but  do  not  stop  up  the  bottle 
with  a  cork,  as  it  will  in  a  short  time  leave  bits  of  it  in  the  var¬ 
nish.  Use  a  cometless  collodion-vial  if  you  can. 

When  about  to  varnish,  hold  the  plate  for  a  second  or  so  near 
the  fire,  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  take  the  chill  from  the 
plate,  which  you  can  do  without  really  warming  it,  for  if  you 
were  to  do  that,  the  varnishing,  as  before  said,  would  remove  the 
tinting  of  the  porcelain,  but  if  it  were  only  kept  near  enough  to 
the  stove  to  prevent  the  plate  from  being  so  cold  as  to  chill  the 
varnish  the  moment  it  is  poured  on,  it  will  not  then  remove  the 
tinting  at  all. 

Avoid  getting  the  plate  hot  before  you  varnish  it,  for  you  will 
almost  inevitably  make  a  “botch”  of  it,  unless  you  have  had 
years  of  experience  -in  varnishing.  The  varnish,  at  this  time, 
will  also  totally  remove  the  tinting  and  coloring  of  the  hair, 
although  it  will  not  affect  the  spotting,  etc. 

Before  you  commence  to  varnish,  shut  the  oven  door  and  turn 
up  the  gas  flame,  thus  allowing  the  oven  to  heat  up  while  you  are 
flowing  the  plate,  so  that  you  can  place  the  plate  in  it,  and  dry 
it  quickly,  which  will  prevent  the  varnish  from  chilling  on  the 
plate,  before  you  have  obtained  heat  enough  to  dry  it.  Pour  the 
varnish  on  the  plate  in  the  same  manner  as  I  have  twice  before 
described,  once  in  the  albumenizing,  and  the  other  in  the  col- 
lodionizing.  Pour  the  varnish  back  from  the  plate  into  another 
bottle,  and  before  using  it  again  always  filter  it. 

Pour  on  the  varnish  so  that  you  can  permit  it  to  run  off  that 
corner  wdiich  is  furthest  away  from  the  print,  because  the  varnish 
forms  a  slight  ridge  on  the  two  sides,  whose  vertex  is  that  corner 
from  which  your  varnish  was  poured  from  the  plate. 

Place  the  freshly  varnished  plate  in  the  hot  oven,  resting  it  on 
one  corner,'  and  that  corner  invariably  the  one  at  which  the  var¬ 
nish  was  poured  off. 

Too  much  varnish  on  the  plate  will  cause  a  much  larger  ridge 


CAUSES  OF  FAILURES  IN  PORCELAIN  PRINTING.  195 

on  the  sides  than  if  there  were  only  about  the  right  quantity 
poured  on  it  in  the  first  place,  unless  you  are  very  careful  in 
pouring  it  from  the  plate. 

Wipe  out  the  oven  every  time  you  are  about  ready  to  varnish 
a  plate,  and  just  as  soon  as  the  plate  is  dry,  remove  it,  and  place 
it  in  a  cool  ( not  too  cool )  place,  which  place  should  be  perfectly 
free  from  all  traces  of  dust. 


CHAP  T  E  R  XV  I. 

CAUSES  OF  FAILURES  IN  PORCELAIN  PRINTING. 

MANIPULATION. 

Proper  manipulation  is  the  great  secret  of  success  in  photog¬ 
raphy,  and  without  it  we  cannot  hope  to  succeed. 

What  is  it  that  lies  at  the  foundation  of  successful  manipula¬ 
tion  ? 

It  is  care  !  and  as  we  are  proportionally  careful  in  manipula¬ 
ting,  so  shall  our  success  be. 

The  beginner  is  very  apt,  unless  he  is  continually  on  his  guard, 
to  get  careless  in  his  manipulation,  and  in  hopes  to  benefit  such 
a  one,  I  will  here  give  a  brief  notice,  wherein  the  careful  man 
succeeds  far  better  than  a  careless  one. 

I  have  known  a  careless  toner,  when  toning  a  porcelain,  to 
drop  a  couple  of  drops  or  so  of  the  chloride  of  gold  solution  into 
the  dish  where  the  porcelain  was  toning,  and  instead  of  placing 
it  in  a  corner  of  the  dish  away  from  any  part  of  the  plate,  what 
worse  thing  could  he  do  than  to  drop  it  in  the  middle  of  the 
dish,  where,  before  he  could  stop  it  toning  more  rapidly  at  that 
place,  by  repeated  shakings  of  the  dish,  it  had  toned  a  place  full 
an  inch  in  diameter  before  it  had  got  so  mixed  with  the  rest  of 
the  solution,  that  it  would  not  tone  so  rapidly,  and  the  bright  (?) 
toner  would  have  a  chance  to  shake  the  contents  of  his  dish  well  ? 
But  it  was  too  late  ;  the  toning  of  the  porcelain  print  needs  to  be 
carried  no  further. 

A  careful  man  would  have  taken  the  porcelain  print  out  of  the 


196 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRI STEM. 


dish  before  he  added  the  gold,  and  when  it  was  well  mixed,  he 
would  have  placed  it  back  again. 

A  careless  man  would  not  have  taken  measures  to  prevent  dust 
from  settling  on  his  plate  either  during  the  albumenizing,  collo- 
dionizing,  or  the  varnishing  of  the  porcelain  plate,  which  a  care¬ 
ful  one  would  certainly  have  done,  and  can  he  hope  that  his 
results  would  have  been  as  fine  as  his  competitors? 

Such  is  a  little  of  the  vast  difference  between  a  careful  and  a 
careless  manipulator,  and  still  the  latter  will  continue  to  say,  and 

often  really  to  believe,  that  the  reason  why  Mr.  - does  better 

work  than  what  he  does,  is  on  account  of  some  secret  formulae, 
etc.,  etc. 

Reader,  you  and  I  know  better. 

THE  PLATES. 

It  is  sometimes  a  most  difficult  thing  to  obtain  good  plates,  on 
account  of  the  unevenness  of  the  glass,  it  often  being  so  wavy  as 
to  render  it  useless  for  good  work. 

Then  again  the  plates  sometimes  have  a  rough  surface,  and  are 
so  frail  that  you  are  continually  expecting  them  to  break. 

When  the  photographer  does  not  have  any  glass  on  hand,  ex¬ 
cept  this  poor  quality,  he  is  obliged  to  use  that,  until  he  can 
obtain  some  better.  I  use  the  poor  glass  up  in  printing  the 
beautiful  imitation  porcelain,  viz.,  “  Lam  son’s  Photo.  Porce¬ 
lain.”* 


CLEANING  OK  THE  PLATES. 

There  will  be  no  difficulty  at  all  in  getting  the  plates  thoroughly 
cleaned,  if  the  advice  is  followed  strictly  out  which  has  been  given 
in  Chapter  II. 


ALBUMENIZING. 

The  film  peeling  off  during  the  subsequent  operations  of  the 
plate  after  it  is  printed,  is  due  to  the  albumen  solution  being  too 
thin,  or  the  plate  not  being  wholly  covered  by  the  albumen 

*  I  do  not  wish  my  readers  to  think  that  the  above  is  an  advertisement  for 
the  sale  of  the  “  Photo.  Porcelain,”  for  that  is  not  so. 


CAUSES  Ob'  FAILURES  IS  PORCELAIN  PRINTING.  197 


during  the  albumenizing.  Roughen  the  edges  of  the  plates  before 
albumenizing,  by  scraping  them  together,  and  flow  with  thick 
albumen. 

Dirty  plates  are  caused,  either  by  using  plates  before  they  are 
thoroughly  clean,  or  by  dirt  in  the  albumen  solution  caused  by 
imperfect  filtration,  or  by  dust  settling  on  them  before  they  had 
dried,  all  of  which  will  cause  plates  to  be  more  or  less  dirty. 

COLLODIO-CHLORIDE. 

This  is  a  very  delicate  collodion,  and  it  should  always  be  made 
and  kept  in  the  dark-room. 

If  the  prints  are  blue  and  slaty  in  color,  and  you  are  sure  that 
it  is  not  caused  by  overfuming,  doubtless  it  is  caused  by  the  col¬ 
lodion,  and  in  that  case,  it  is  because  there  is  not  enough  citric 
acid  in  the  solution,  for  this  is  what  gives  the  tone  to  the  printing 
porcelain. 

If  the  collodion  prints  flat,  the  chloride  of  silver  in  it  is  too 
weak,  and  you  should  make  up  another  batch,  containing  a  grain 
or  so  more  of  silver  to  each  ounce  of  solution  than  what  there 
may  have  been  in  the  cast-away  collodion. 

Chloride  of  calcium  in  the  proportion  of  3.75  minims  of  the 
calcium  solution  (see  Solution  C,  Chapter  IV,  Part  III),  is  added 
to  every  grain  of  nitrate  of  silver  there  may  have  been  placed  in 
the  collodion. 

The  beginner  must  remember  that  a  minim  is  the  same  as  an 
ordinary  size  drop,  and  in  a  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver  four 
hundred  and  eighty  grains,  and  pure  water  four  hundred  and 
eighty  minims  (one  ounce),  the  silver  is  one  grain  strong  to  every 
minim  of  solution. 

For  the  purpose  of  measuring  out  drops  there  is  in  the  market 
a  tiny  graduate,  which  holds  just  ore  drachm.  This  graduate 
has  the  scale  marked  in  minims,  and  thus  if  we  wished  to  measure 
out  sixty  drops  of  a  solution,  all  that  we  would  have  to  do,  is  to 
fill  the  graduate  up  to  the  place  marked  sixty  minims  (which  is 
one  drachm  ),  and  besides  being  more  sure  in  obtaining  the  exact 
quantity  we  wished,  it  is  not  near  so  tedious  as  it  would  be  to 
drop  the  required  number  one  by  one  from  the  bottle. 

Suppose  we  were  to  make  up  a  bottle  of  collodio(n)-chloride 
which  should  just  contain  four  ounces  of  plain  collodion,  and  we 

17* 


198 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


were  to  add  thirty-two  drops  of  the  silver  solution  named  above. 
There  would  then  be  thirty-two  grains  of  silver  in  the  four  ounces 
of  plain  collodion,  which  by  the  way  is  equal  to  eight  grains  of 
nitrate  of  silver  to  each  separate  ounce  of  collodion.  Now  when 
we  are  about  to  add  the  chloride  of  calcium  solution  to  the  rest 
of  it,  we  should  add  3.75  minims  to  every  grain  of  silver  there 
was  added  to  the  collodion,  which  in  this  case  was  32  grains,  and 
3.75  minims  X  32  grains  =  120  minims,  which  is  one-quarter  of 
an  ounce. 

As  a  rule  add  of  the  citric  acid,  in  the  same  quantity  as  you 
do  the  chloride  of  calcium,  and  the  proportion  would  then  be  the 
same,  providing  the  solutions  are  each  thirty-two  grains  to  the 
ounce  of  ninety-five  per  cent,  alcohol. 

If  you  were  to  make  up  a  batch  of  six  ounces  of  collodion, 
and  as  in  the  above  case  you  would  wish  to  make  it  eight  grains 
strong  of  silver  to  the  ounce  of  collodion,  you  would  then  fill  up 
the  tiny  graduate  to  the  place  which  should  indicate  forty-eight 
drops. 

In  adding  the  chloride  of  calcium  and  the  citric  acid  to  the 
collodion,  you  should  add  of  both  3.75  minims  X  4&  grains, 
which  is  one  hundred  and  eighty  minims. 

The  apprentice  will  readily  see  by  the  perusal  of  the  above, 
that  he  can  make  up  a  rule  for  the  successful  making  of  the  col- 
lodio-chloride,  providing  in  the  case  of  the  chloride  and  the  citric 
acid,  he  were  to  make  up  a  stock  solution  of  each  of  these  in  the 
proportion,  as  has  been  before  said,  of  thirty-two  grains  to  the 
ounce  of  alcohol. 

Thick  collodion  is  caused  by  having  used  plain  collodion  which 
contained  too  much  cotton,  or  by  having  left  for  a  time  the  bottle 
of  collodio-chloride  uncorked. 

Dirty  collodion  is  caused  by  not  having  the  bottle  clean  in 
which  it  was  made,  and  then  again  by  the  use  of  dirty  solutions, 
which  have  been  used  in  the  making  of  it.  The  chloride  of  cal¬ 
cium  solution,  if  made  in  a  small  quantity,  cannot  be  decanted, 
and  will  often  have  to  be  filtered  before  use.  The  dirt  in  the 
collodio-chloride  solution  rises  to  the  top,  and  by  pouring  off  the 
top  of  it,  you  can  obtain  clean  collodion  for  use  whenever  you 
need  it,  although  it  had  best  be  poured  off  immediately  before 
you  want  it  to  use. 


CAUSES  OF  FAILURES  IN  PORCELAIN  PRINTING.  199 


Yellow  collodion  is  caused  by  age  and  heat,  and  occurs  far 
more  quickly  during  the  heat  of  summer  than  what  it  does  in  the 
winter.  This  occurs  more  readily  in  collodion  which  is  highly 
sensitized. 

It  would  be  a  good  plan  to  make  up  differently  sensitized 
batches  of  collodion,  each  of  which  should  be  plainly  labelled  as 
to  the  exact  number  of  grains  there  is  to  each  ounce  of  solution 
at  the  time  of  making  it,  so  that  when  you  are  about  to  print  a 
harsh  or  a  flat  negative,  you  can  flow  your  plate  with  that  collo¬ 
dion  which  is  best  fit  for  that  particular  negative,  and  the  results 
will  be  better. 

Yellowness  of  the  film  after  drying  is  caused  either  by  the 
plate  being  subjected  to  intense  heat  during  drying,  or  by  ex¬ 
posure  to  the  light  before  toning. 

PRINTING. 


Double  features  are  caused  by  the  moving  of  the  negative 
during  printing  ;■  blurred  prints  by  imperfect  contact  between  the 
plate  and  negative  ;  scratches  by  carelessness ;  harsh  shadows  by 
the  negative  not  bein£  “doctored  ”  before  printing  as  it  ought 
to  be ;  besides  many  other  things  which  may  be  called  failures 
in  this  department. 

WASHING. 


Stains  and  scratches  are  caused  by  accidents  (?)  during  the 
washing. 


TONING. 


Refusing  to  Tone. — This  is  caused  by  there  not  being  enough 
gold  in  the  solution  ;  or  the  solution  being  too  acid  through  neg¬ 
lect  of  placing  sufficient  bicarbonate  of  soda  in  it ;  and  if  this 
refusing  to  tone  is  accompanied  by  considerable  bleaching,  then 
the  solution  is  surely  acid,  or  it  is  not  thoroughly  ripe  before  it 
is  used. 

Uneven  Toning. — This  has  a  very  bad  look,  on  account  of 
there  being  a  variety  of  hues,  stains,  etc.,  often  abounding  in  the 
print.  This  is  caused  by  careless  manipulation,  and  occurs 
more  in  the  case  of  the  beginner  while  “  toning  by  hand  ”  than 
in  any  other  way. 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


200 


FIXING. 

Insufficient  fixing  will  cause  the  plates  to  discolor  quite  rapidly 
after  they  are  finished. 

Sometimes  when  a  porcelain  print  is  placed  in  the  fixing  bath, 
it  will  immediately  turn  a  very  disagreeable-looking  tone,  and 
stay  that  tone  in  spite  of  your  efforts  towards  bringing  it  back  to 
its  proper  color.  There  are  several  reasons  for  this :  first,  the 
collodion  may  be  too  new ;  secondly,  the  hypo  solution  may  be 
old  ;  thirdly,  the  soda  solution  may  be  acid  ;  and  fourthly,  the 
collodion  may  be  too  old  :  all  of  which  will  give  the  same  re¬ 
sult. 

If  the  collodion  is  either  too  new  or  old,  it  is  certain  to  show 
it  in  the  fixing  bath,  in  the  former  case  turning  green  in  color, 
and  in  the  latter,  an  ugly  yellow  tinge  will  be  plainly  visible  to 
the  fixed  print.  As  to  the  hypo  solution,  never  fix  a  plate  in  a 
bath  that  has  ever  had  a  single  plate  fixed  in  it — especially  if  the 
bath  is  more  than  a  day  old — and  do  not  use  a  bath  of  hypo 
which  is  ice-cold,  and  just  made  up,  but  have  it  as  warm  as  com¬ 
mon  rain-water  is  in  the  summer  when  pumped  from  the  cistern, 
and  allow  the  bath  to  be  an  hour  or  so  okl  before  use,  as  better 
results  are  obtained.  Try  it. 

Keep  the  hypo  bath  always  in  the  dark,  more  especially  so  after 
any  plates  have  been  fixed  in  it. 

FINAL  WASHING. 

Insufficient  washing  will  cause  the  plate  to  turn  yellow  in  a 
short  time  after  it  is  dried,  and  the  picture  will  gradually  bleach 
and  fade,  and  within  a  year’s  time,  the  tone  will  be  most  dis¬ 
agreeable. 

If  the  porcelain  changes  color  during  this  washing,  then  the 
collodion  is  too  new,  and  sometimes  the  water  is  impure,  and  to 
determine  as  to  whether  the  latter  is  the  cause,  use  a  little  dis¬ 
tilled  water  for  the  first  washing. 

FADING  OF  THE  PORCELAINS. 

This  is,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  due  to  the  porcelain  plate 
itself,  and  is  owing  to  the  substance  which  is  used  in  the  bleach¬ 
ing  of  the  coloring  matter  in  the  plate  being  left  in  the  plate, 


CA  USES  OF  FAILURES  IN  PORCELAIN  PRINTING.  201 


and  which  thus  affects  the  print,  destroying  it  in  many  cases  as 
completely  as  it  would  be  destroyed  if  the  hypo  was  not  well  and 
thoroughly  washed  from  it. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  some  photographers  will  never  make 
porcelains  for  their  customers,  without  first  telling  them  that 
they  will  not  warrant  them  to  last  longer  than  a  given  specified 
time. 

There  are  good  plates,  however,  as  well  as  poor  ones,  and  I 
have  very  often  known  porcelains  to  keep  for  two  to  three  years 
in  good  condition,  and  look  then  as  though  they  were  good  for 
full  as  many  more. 

The  fading  is  not  wholly  in  the  plate,  however,  for  it  is  often 
in  the  fixing  and  final  washing  of  it  that  they  sometimes  fade,  on 
account  of  poor  manipulation,  besides  various  local  causes  which 
are  impossible  things  to  mention  here,  as  there  are  different 
causes  in  every  gallery.  Always  do  your  work  as  well  as  possible, 
and  in  ninety  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  the  porcelain  will  keep  in 
excellent  condition  for  many  years. 


Part  IV. 


GLACE  PHOTOGRAPHS. 


These  beautiful  and  exquisite  pictures,  when  finely  made  and 
finished,  are  by  many  considered  to  be  the  finest  photographs 
made,  while  on  the  contrary,  there  are  some  parties  who  think 
otherwise,  for  various  reasons,  some  of  which  are  the  trouble  and 
expense  of  their  production,  as  well  as  their  being  very  easily 
spoiled  by  the  slightest  abrasion,  be  it  as  gentle  as  it  may.  As 
far  as  the  objections  in  regard  to  the  trouble  of  making  them 
are  concerned,  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  writer  to  give  a  formula 
and  mode  of  working  the  same  that  will  tend  towards  making 
the  most  inexperienced  novice,  after  a  few  trials,  an  adept  in 
obtaining  the  most  successful  results. 

GLACE  PRINTING. 

Always  cut  the  paper  one  way,  either  with  or  against  the  grain, 
and  make  a  corresponding  allowance  in  the  size  of  the  masks  used 
for  laying  on  the  negative,  from  which  you  are  to  print  the  pic¬ 
tures  that  are  to  be  enamelled.  The  reason  of  this  is  because  the 
paper  stretches,  and  if  due  allowance  is  not  made  to  counteract 
this  beforehand,  you  will  find,  upon  embossing  the  enamelled 
photograph,  that  the  form  of  the  embossing-block  does  not  fit 
the  form  of  the  cut-out  used  in  printing  the  picture,  being  either 
too  short  or  too  narrow,  according  to  the  way  the  paper  was  cut 
for  printing.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  author  always  recom¬ 
mends  cutting  the  paper  one  way,  and  then  you  always  will  know 
how  it  will  stretch,  and  you  can  therefore  cut  the  mask  from  one- 
sixteenth  to  one-eighth  of  an  inch  narrower  or  shorter  than  the 


GLA  ( 'E  PHQTOGRA  PUS. 


203 


form  of  the  embossing-block,  and  always  depend  upon  its  coming 
out  all  right  in  the  press. 

This  is  very  easily  done  by  the  skilful  printer  by  slanting  his 
knife  inward  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch,  while  cutting  that  part 
of  the  mask  that  is  desired  to  be  altered. 

Print  the  photograph  one  or  two  shades  darker  than  for  an 
ordinary  print,  and  if  you  desire  a  fine  velvety  tone,  the  beauty 
of  which  will  be  still  greater  enhanced  when  enamelled,  print 
with  great  care,  and  as  slowly  as  is  consistent  with  the  quality  of 
the  negative;  for  the  slower  a  print  is  printed,  the  more  beauti¬ 
ful  does  it  always  come  up  in  the  toning  bath,  other  things  being 
equal.  A  border  is  printed  ( also  slowly)  on  the  photograph  by 
the  use  of  a  negative  of  some  fancy  design,  in  the  selection  of 
which  great  taste  can  be  displayed.  There  are  negatives  in  the  „ 
market,  for  sale  by  our  leading  stockdealers,  which  are  made 
especially  for  this  and  similar  objects,  called  “Griswold  Mar¬ 
ble  Negative,’’  “Fredericks  Frost  Negatives,’’  and  “Bigelow 
Cloud  Negatives.”  If  the  photographer  wishes,  he  can  make 
beautiful  designs  by  taking  negatives  of  hypo,  soda  crystals,  left 
by  evaporating  some  saturated  solution  of  hyposulphate  of  sodium, 
or  the  grain  of  different  kinds  of  wood,  mahogany,  for  instance, 
etc.,  etc. 


TONING. 


Use  a  bath  that  gives  cool  purplish-black  tones,  tending  if  any 
the  least  shade  warm,  but  only  a  very  little,  for  warm  tones  do 
not  look  well  when  the  print  is  enamelled.  Such  a  bath  can  be 
had  by  using  the  acetate  of  soda  bath,  recommended  on  another 
page.  Fix  and  wash  in  the  usual  manner,  and  then,  when 
the  prints  are  dry,  touch  out  the  spots  lightly  by  the  use  of 
a  medium  hard  and  black  crayon,  or  an  HB  Faber’s  Siberian 
graphite  lead-pencil.  Do  not  touch  out  as  fully  in  depth  of  tone 
as  would  match  the  surrounding  parts  of  the  picture,  but  very 
nearly,  because  if  touched  out  too  heavy  the  spots  show  after 
enamelling.  A  little  experience  as  to  how  far  this  should  be 
carried,  is  obtained  after  glac6ing  a  few  times.  Modelling  the 
face  of  the  unmounted  photograph  by  means  of  the  crayon  can 
in  a  great  measure  be  done,  but  if  done  too  much  the  difference 


204 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


in  the  tone  of  the  lead-pencil  marks  and  the  toiv;  of  the  picture 
is  very  readily  noticed,  hence  the  reason  why  the  artist  should 
be  careful.  When  nicely  done,  the  effect  is  very  beautiful.  In 
touching  out  the  spots,  or  in  modelling,  one  word  of  caution  : 
Do  not  touch  too  heavy,  as  besides  making  the  marks  too  black, 
there  is  danger  of  the  brilliancy  of  the  lead  showing  very  plainly 
after  enamelling. 


CLEANING  THE  GLASS. 

Thus  far  we  have  left  the  prints  ready  to  be  enamelled,  and 
leaving  them  there  for  the  present,  we  will  commence  to  prepare 
,  the  glass  for  collodionizing.  This  is  a  very  important  process, 
for  the  whole  success,  or  at  least  the  greater  part  of  it,  turns 
upon  how  this  is  done. 

Plate-glass,  which  is  thoroughly  free  from  the  slightest  imper¬ 
fection  of  any  kind  whatever,  is  selected,  and  if  thoroughly  new, 
it  should  be  soaked  in  a  strong  solution  of  caustic  potash  and 
water  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  then  the  potash  is  washed  thor¬ 
oughly  therefrom,  and  then  immersed  in  a  strong  solution  of 
nitric  acid  and  water  for  the  same  length  of  time,  and  then  again 
washed  and  placed  in  a  rack  to  dry,  away  from  any  dust  or  from 
the  odor  of  chemicals.  When  thoroughly  dry,  place  it  in  a 
glass-cleaning  vise,  and  by  means  of  some  soft  canton  flannel  and 
alcohol  proceed  to  clean  it  in  the  same  way  as  was  done  a  few 
years  ago,  before  albumenizing  the  plate  became  so  common. 
When  thoroughly  clean,  sprinkle  a  very  little  powdered  talc  or 
peat-chalk  upon  the  glass,  and  with  a  dry  piece  of  the  flannel  rub 
it  well  over  the  surface  of  the  glass,  and  blow  off  the  superfluous 
quantity  (if  there  is  any),  leaving  as  pure  and  as  brilliant  a  sur¬ 
face  as  there  was  before.  This  chalk  imparts  a  slippery  feeling 
to  the  glass,  which  is  very  advantageous  when  the  collodion  film 
is  desired  to  be  removed  from  the  glass,  as  will  be  seen  further 
on.  This  talc  makes  the  surface  so  slippery,  that  it  is  necessary 
to  put  a  preparation  along  all  the  sides  of  the  glass  to  keep  the 
collodion  from  peeling  off  before  the  gelatin  surface  is  dry,  and 
for  this  purpose  a  stiff  paste  solution  of  gum  tragacanth  and  water 
is  not  at  all  sparingly  used.  Paste  about  one-fourth  of  an  inch 


GLACE  PHOTOGRAPHS. 


205 


on  all  four  sides  of  the  glass.  The  glass,  after  the  gum  tragacanth 
has  dried  along  the  edges,  is  now  ready  for  collodionizing  with 

GLACE  COLLODION, 
which  is  made  as  follows  : 

Alcohol,  95  per  cent.,  .  .  .  ■  i'A  ounces. 

Ether  Sulph.  Cone.,  .....  4^  “ 

Gun-cotton  (Hance’s  “  Delicate  Cream  ”), .  48  grains. 

Let  stand  for  about  forty-eight  hours,  and  then  decant  sufficient 
to  coat  the  plates  intended  for  immediate  use,  although  enough 
plates  can  be  coated  to  last  for  two  or  three  weeks’  use  for  that 
matter,  if  they  are  nicely  taken  care  of  afterwards,  as  they  do 
not  spoil  by  keeping;  on  the  contrary,  the  writer  thinks  they  are 
mijch  better  when  they  are  used  a  few  days  after  collodionizing. 
Pour  the  extra  solution  from  the  plate  after  flowing  into  another 
bottle.  If  the  drained  collodion  thickened  while  being  thus 
used,  then  make  it  about  the  same  consistency  by  the  addition, 
drop  by  drop,  of  sulphuric  ether ;  let  stand  a  day  or  so,  decant, 
and  use  again. 

After  the  plates  are  all  collodionized,  let  them  stand  for  about 
six  hours  at  least  (a  day  is  better),  and  then  they  are  ready  to  lay 
the  print  upon  for  enamelling. 

MIXING  THE  GELATIN. 

The  best  French  gelatin  is  used,  and  allowed  to  soak  for  a  few 
hours  in  cool  pure  water,  in  the  proportion  of  one  ounce  of  the 
gelatin  to  eight  ounces  of  water,  to  which  may  be  added  a  few 
drops  of  pure  inodorous  glycerin.  Gentle  heat  is  then  applied 
to  the  gelatin  and  water  until  the  gelatin  is  dissolved,  and  the 
solution  is  quite  warm,  when  it  is  fdtered  through  very  fine  cloth 
or  astrainer.  It  is  better  now  to  let  the  gelatin  cool  again,  in  a 
clean  porcelain  dish  (which  is  covered  up),  although  this  extra 
nicety  is  not  always  resorted  to.  The  writer  would  now  strongly 
advise  the  use  of  porcelain  dishes  to  cook  the  gelatin  in,  as  he 
has  a  notion  that  tin  dishes  do  not  improve  the  gelatin  any,  es¬ 
pecially  when  the  tinware  gets  a  little  rusty,  as  it  will  after 

18 


206 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


awhile.  Do  not  make  up  too  great  a  quantity  of  the  gelatin,  as  it 
spoils  if  kept  too  long  a  time ;  say  more  than  two  or  three  days. 

Endeavor  always  to  prevent  the  gelatin  from  ever  getting  too 
hot,  or  remaining  long  in  that  state,  as  it  turns  quite  dark  in 
color  ;  until  after  a  couple  times  using  it,  it  is  so  dark  and  yellow 
that  it  spoils  the  purity  of  the  whites  of  the  picture,  making  them 
yellow,  same  as  we  sometimes  see  in  glace  photographs  wherein 
care  has  not  been  exercised  in  this  respect.'  It  is  best  always  to 
dissolve  the  gelatin,  and  keep  it  at  a  gentle  heat  by  means  either 
of  the  sand-  or  water-bath.  When  ready  to  laydown  the  prints, 
redissolve  the  gelatin  and  apply  heat  until  the  solution  is  quite 
warm,  but  not  too  hot  to  bear  keeping  the  lingers  in  while  manip¬ 
ulating.  Strain  again  if  necessary. 


RUBBING  DOWN  THE  PRINTS. 

This  is  done  by  means  of  a  pair  of  small  rubber  rollers  four  or 
five  inches  in  length  (which  will  be  found  far  better  than  the 
old-fashioned  “squeegee,”  made  by  wrapping  four  or  five  folds 
of  canton  flannel  around  a  rectangular  shaped  piece  of  glass,  five 
or  six  inches  in  length).  The  prints  are  placed  in  the  gelatin 
solution  one  by  one  as  wanted,  and  allowed  to  remain  there  for 
about  a  minute  until  thoroughly  coated.  If  they  remain  in  too 
long,  the  tone  of  the  photograph  will  be  spoiled,  turning  quite 
warm  in  color,  until  at  last  they  are  too  warm  to  be  used.  When 
they  have  remained  in  about  the  time  specified,  they  are  removed 
from  the  solution,  and  without  stopping  at  all  to  drain,  they  are 
placed,  face  down,  on  the  collodion  surface  of  the  plate-glass, 
which  an  assistant  has  previously  heated  on  the  hack  quite  warm 
over  a  spirit-lamp.  When  the  print  is  laid  on  the  glass  (which 
is  quite  a  skilful  operation  to  do  well),  the  rollers  are  rolled 
across  once  or  twice  quite  lightly,  and  then  the  glass  is  set  aside, 
back  down,  for  the  gelatin  to  set  while  you  are  laying  down 
others.  There  is  a  great  mistake,  often  made  by  beginners,  in 
rubbing  the  print  too  hard,  thinking  thereby  to  get  rid  of  bubbles 
between  the  print  and  glass,  whereas  the  operation  only  makes 
them  the  more  numerous.  There  is  a  knack  in  putting  them  on 
the  glass  in  the  first  place,  which  will  entirely  get  rid  of  the 
bubbles,  and  it  is  only  necessary  to  use  the  rollers  to  remove 


OLA  OK  PHO  TOG  PA  PUS. 


207 


some  of  the  superfluous  gelatin,  which  is  best  to  have  on  the 
print  when  first  placed  on  the  glass,  so  that  in  case  it  becomes 
necessary  to  use  the  rollers  to  remove  the  bubbles,  there  may  be 
some  of  the  solution  there  to  assist  in  so  doing,  else  it  would  be 
best  to  drain  the  prints  beforehand. 

When  the  prints  are  all  laid  on  the  glass,  and  the  first  glass 
used  has  set  for  about  half  an  hour,  the  pictures  are  ready  to 
have  the  mounts  placed  on  as  backing,  which  is  done  by  using 
one  or  two  thicknesses  of  thin  Bristol  board  cut  to  suitable  size, 
and  soaking  them  in  the  gelatin  solution  for  about  five  minutes, 
until  thoroughly  impregnated  with  the  solution,  and  then  placed 
on  the  back  of  the  picture  one  at  a  time  (if  two  thicknesses  are 
used  to  each  plate),  and  rubbed  as  was  shown  above  in  the  case 
of  the  print.  When  all  the  plates  are  thus  backed,  they  are  all 
placed  in  a  cool,  dry  place  for  twenty-four  hours  to  dry,  when 
they  are  ready  to  be  removed  from  the  glass,  which,  if  the  above 
directions  have  been  faithfully  carried  out,  is  easily  done  by  cut¬ 
ting  with  a  sharp  knife  inside  of  the  edges  of  the  glass,  where 
the  gum  tragacanth  was  placed,  and  pulling  them  up,  which  is 
very  easily  done.  If  the  gum  tragacanth  does  not  do  its  work 
very  thoroughly,  which  it  sometimes  will  not  if  used  too  thin, 
the  picture  will  spring  from  the  glass  before  being  thoroughly 
dry.  Often  the  picture  comes  up  part  way,  and  not  the  rest, 
which  is  very  undesirable,  as  surfaces  of  different  brilliancy  will 
be  the  result.  Good  stout  paste  of  this  gum,  however,  will  pre¬ 
vent  this.  Should  there  seem  any  disposition  to  stick  to  the 
surface,  and  not  come  up,  or  if  it  comes  up  except  a  few  places 
on  the  surface  where  it  sticks  and  tears  a  piece  of  the  picture 
out,  then  the  glass  has  not  been  thoroughly  cleaned,  dirt  having 
remained  on  the  plate,  which  was  not  removed  in  cleaning. 

EMBOSSING  AND  MOUNTING  THE  GLACE. 

We  have  now  come  to  a  stage  when  the  enamelled  pictures  are 
ready  to  be  embossed  and  mounted  on  the  mounts,  but  they 
should  be  first  marked  by  laying  the  glass  on,  as  if  for  trimming, 
but  instead  of  so  doing,  the.  size  of  the  glass  mat  is  scratched  on 
the  surface  of  the  photograph.  The  reason  why  the  prints  are 
not  cut  at  this  time,  is  because  they  do  not  emboss  as  finely,  and 


208 


THE  PRACTICAL  PRINTER. 


the  size  is  scratched  in  the  surface  because,  after  embossing,  it 
will  of  course  be  found  impossible  to  lay  the  glass  on  the  print. 
In  trimming  after  embossing,  use  a  sharp  knife,  and  with  one 
cut  make  a  clean  sweep  of  the  side.  The  looks  of  the  finished 
glace  is  very  much  hurt  if  the  print  is  hacked  in  trimming. 

The  glace  blocks  for  embossing  are  for  sale  by  any  stock- 
dealer,  and  are  known  by  the  names  of  E.  L.  Brand’s,  Brooke’s, 
and  many  others.  Any  ingenious  cabinet-maker  can  make  one, 
however,  if  the  photographer  cannot  obtain  any.  The  author 
uses  Brand’s  altogether,  and  finds  them  excellent.  In  laying  the 
print  in  the  block  for  embossing,  be  sure  that  the  form  of  the 
cut-out  of  the  print  and  that  of  the  block  match,  mention  of 
which  was  made  above.  Press  for  about  ten  minutes,  either  in 
Brand’s  press,  or  by  the  use  of  an  ordinary  copying-press,  re¬ 
move  and  trim,  when  they  are  ready  for  mounting,  which  is  done 
by  the  use  of  thin  hot  glue.  To  keep  the  oval  or  arch-top  em¬ 
bossed  centre  from  falling  after  awhile,  it  will  be  found  necessary 
to  use  a  padding  of  cotton-wool,  which  is  placed  on  the  proper 
place  on  the  mount  before  the  picture  is  mounted. 


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Photographers’  Pocket  Reference  Book. — By  Dr.  H.  Vogei..  Price, 
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Outdoor  work.  . For  Groups  and  other  work  in  the  Studio , 
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CAMERA  BOXES, 

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Card  Stock, 

French  and  English  Glass, 
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Chemicals, 

Stereoscopes, 

Frames. 


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‘210 


PRICE  LIST’S  SEN  T  UN  APPLICATION. 


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IMPORTER  OF  THE  CELEBRATED 

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Solid  German  Glass  Baths,  Saxe  Evaporating  Dishes, 

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PHOTO.  PRINTERS’  REQUISITES 


ROBINSON’S  PHOTO.  TRIMMERS, 

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/ /6  North  Seventh  St.,  PHILADELPHIA. 


ON  COLORING. 


The  Photographic  Colorists’  Guide. 

By  the  late  JOHN  L.  GIHON, 

ONCE  ONE  OF  THE  MOST  TAI.KNTKD  AND  A1ILE  ARTISTS  IN  THE  PROFESSION. 


K  0  W  EEADT! 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  COLORING. — The  growing  demand  for  a  fresh  work  on  Photo¬ 
graphic  Coloring,  one  that  contains  full  instructions  on  all  the  new  and  improved  methods — for. 
like  photography  itself,  photo,  coloring  has  improved  and  progressed — has  led  to  the  publication  of 
the  above. 

Its  Contents  are: — Preface.  Chap.  I.  On  India-ink  Work.  II.  The  Principles  to  be  considered 
in  the  Application  of  Colors  III.  The  Materials  used  in  Finishing  Photographs  with  Water 
Colors.  IV.  Water-color  Painting  as  applied  to  Photographs  V.  Relative  to  the  Cse  of  Paints 
that  are  Mixed  with  Oil  VI.  Coloring  with  Pastels.  VII.  The  Production  of  Ivorytypes 
\’ll  I.  The  Crystal  Ivory  type.  IX.  Crayon  Work.  X.  Negative  Reiouching.  XI.  About 
Matters  so  far  Forgotten.  XII.  Rudimentary  Perspective. 

The  last  chapter  is  on  a  subject  entirely  new  and  fresh,  and  is  finely  illustrated. 

The  whole  makes  the  most  interesting  and  valuab'e  photographic  work  that  has  been 
issued  for  several  years. 

Mailed  on  receipt  of  price,  $1.50  per  copy. 

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Over  7000 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  CHAIRS 

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Thanking  our  friends  and  customers  for  past  favors,  and  hoping  that  we  may 
continue  to  share  your  patronage  in  the  future,  we  beg  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
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New  Chairs  and  Tables, 

Made  especially  for  the  Photographic  Studio. 

As  there  have  been  such  Great  Changes  of  Furniture 

in  general,  we  therefore  bring  before  you  a  number  of  new  Chairs,  etc., 

made  from  the 

Eastlake  and  Queen  Anne  Styles ! 

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19  213 


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T  H  E 


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PHOTOGRAPHY 

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A  new  series  of  papers  on  Photographic  Art  is  expected.  Extracts  from  John  L. 
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A  new  series  of  articles  may  be  expected  by  Mr.  Chasl  Waldack,  author  of 
“  Waldack’s  Treatise.”  An  entirely  different  series  by  Prof.  H.  M.  Mclntire,  au¬ 
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OUR  PICTURES 

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WILSON,  HOOD  &  CO. 

Have  extended  their  facilities  for  the  manufacture  of  Photographic  Furniture,  and 
are  weekly  introducing  new  styles  which  not  only  are  highly  artistic,  but  are  made 
in  a  substantial  manner,  at  a  fair  price.  One  of  our  latest  productions  is  the 

WINDOW  CHAIR. 

(SEE  CUT.) 


Raw  Silk  Cover,  Price,  $23. 

We  have  a  number  of  Elegant  Chairs,  Lounges  and  Tables,  and  solicit  correspond¬ 
ence  with  parties  desiring  to  purchase.  We  deal  in  every  variety  of 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  MATERIALS. 

Import  largely,  especially 

“  W.  H.  C.”  NEGATIVE  GLASS. 

6 yz  x8  '/i  and  8x  io,  at  $3.75  per  box. 

Manufacture  anything  in  the  way  of 

FURNITURE,  BACKGROUNDS,  CURTAINS,  etc., 

From  your  own,  or  our  designs,  and  shall  be  glad  to  have  a  share  of  your 
patronage.  Very  Truly, 

WILSON,  HOOD  &  CO., 

No.  825  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


•210 


Edward  L.  W ilson, 

116  NORTH  SEVENTH  ST.,  PHILADELPHIA. 


Always  on  hand  a  large  and  complete  assortment,  ami  the  best  and  largest  variety 

in  America  of 

M  agic  Lantern  Slides, 

LANTERNS,  SCIOPTICONS,  STEREOPTICONS, 

AND  LANTERN  APPLIANCES. 


Messrs.  Thomas  &  Wilson,  Chicago  and  Morristown,  N.  V.,  having  purchased  a  pair  of  our  Dis¬ 
solving  Lanterns,  write  as  follows  :  “  We  have  given  two  public  exhibitions  with  our  neiv  outfit ,  and 
can  say  truthfully,  the  Lanterns  worked  far  better  than  we  dared  to  hope.  They  give  a  very  brilliant 
light,  a  perfect  flat  field,  making  the  picture  sharp,  clear,  and  distinct  to  the  very  edges.  Those 
Voigtlander  Lenses  are  gems  within  themselves.  Darlot's  are  good  for  short  range.  Dissolving 
slides  work  into  each  other  the  best  we  ever  had.  Embracing  ail  in  all,  we  now  have  the  best  outfit 
we  ever  had  or  ever  saw ;  giving  perfect  satisfaction  on  every  point/* 

September  23,  1878. 


Our  views  consist  of  plain  and  colored  photographs  of  almost  all  subjects  and 
countries. 

Special  rates  to  large  buyers. 


Our  $100  OUTFITS  include  a  WONDERFUL  amount  for  the  money. 

For  further  information,  send  fifteen  cents  for  illustrated  catalogue  of  one  hundred 
and  sixteen  pages,  and  before  you  buy  your  slides  consult 

Wilson’s  Lantern  Journeys. 

A  book  of  descriptions  of  nine  hundred  places  and  things  in  all  countries, — Europe, 
Asia,  Africa,  Great  Britain,  America,  the  Centennial  and  the  Paris  Exhibitions. 

BOUND  IN  CLOTH,  407  PAGES.  $2. 


Publisher  of  THE  MAGIC  LANTERN,  a  Monthly  Journal,  $1  a  year. 

EDWARD  L.  WILSON, 

116  N.  Seventh  Street,  Philadelphia. 

217 


TRAPP  &  MUNCH’S 


THE  PAPER  OF  THE  DAY. 


Introduced  in  this  country  since  1868,  has  become  the  leading  paper,  and  is 
now  better  known  and  more  appreciated  than  any  other  brand. 

That  this  great  success  is  well  deserved  and  due  to  its  excellent  qualities,  may 
be  judged  from  the  fact,  that  of  all  the  competitors  of  the  Vienna  Exhibition, 
Messrs.  Trapp  &  Munch,  alone,  received  the 

MEDAL  OF  MERIT  FOR  ALBUMENIZED  PAPER. 

THEY  ALSO  RECEIVED  A 

Medal  and  Diploma  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia. 

TOR  SALE  AT  ALL  THE  STOCKHOUSES. 

Hearn’s  Formula  for  Trapp  &  Munch’s  Paper: 

Silver  Bath  of  35  grains  strength  neutralized  with  carbonate  of  soda. 

Toning  Bath. — Chloride  of  gold  sufficient  for  the  batch  of  prints,  rendered 
barely  alkaline  with  bicarbonate  of  soda,  and  one-quarter  ounce  of  salt  to  each 
quart  of  solution. 

Fuc  in  water  one  and  a  half  gallons,  hypo  two  pounds,  say  ten  to  fifteen 
minutes. 

Place  the  prints  in  a  solution  of  salt  before  fixing. 

Finally  place  the  prints  in  water  slightly  acidified  with  acetic  acid  for  five 
minutes,  and  then  wash  them  well  in  changing  water  before  toning. 


WILLY  WALLACH, 


(1KNKRAI.  AOKNT  KOK  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

4  Beekman  Street,  and  30  Park  Row,  New  York. 

218 


CENTENNIAL  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CO.’S 

UNRIVALLED 

STEREOSCOPIC  VIEWS 


Statuary, 

Interiors, 

Exteriors, 


Fancy  Groups, 

Works  of  Art, 

Machinery,  etc. 


The  most  unrivalled  collection  ever  published. 

REDUCED  TO  $2.00  PER  DOZEN. 

The  following  sizes  are  also  made  : 

CARD,  CABINET,  5x8,  8x10,  13x16,  and  17x21. 

LIBERAL  DISCOUNT  TO  THE  TRADE. 

Catalogues  supplied  on  receipt  of  a  thrce-cent  stamp. 

EVERY  PHOTOGRAPHER  CAN  SELL  THEM. 


ALSO, 

Magic  Lantern  Slides, 

Over  500  subjects  of  greater  interest  than  any  other  class  in  this  line. 

FOR  SALE  l!Y  THE 

CENTENNIAL  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CO., 

EDWARD  L.  WILSON,  Pkoi'kihtok. 

City  Office,  116  North  Seventh  St.,  Philadelphia. 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 

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HEADQUARTERS  FOR 


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